Farm Tots

We’re going to the farm, farm, farm
Maybe we’ll see a barn, barn, barn
There will be goats there too,
I’m going to the farm with you!

This is the song that Alice and I sing as we head eastward, over the floating bridge and across Lake Washington. Alice and I make up songs to sing whenever we’re in the car together, but this song is new, made up just today. Today is the first time for Alice ever to go to a farm, and I get to take her.

I had been scheming a farm visit since I went to South 47 Farm for their raspberry U-pick earlier this summer. There were a number of families there with children, and a fenced off area with goats and ducks. You could buy goat feed from a gumball-style machine and the kids were having fun feeding the goats. Because Alice, my two-year-old niece, dearly loves animals, I got excited about the idea of taking her to the farm.

Not to mention, these days I am feeling strongly about how important it is for everyone—especially little ones—to get a sense of where their food comes from and how it all works.

My scheming was aided by the purchase, by my brother, of an extra car seat. This seat is now installed in my car, which makes me feel oddly like someone’s mom but which opens up a world of adventure for Alice and me when we have our weekly playdates each Friday. This week I decided to take her to the farm. We would feed the goats, maybe pick some blueberries, it would be fun.

When I went online, to check the hours on the farm’s website, I discovered they had a Farm Tots program—a weekly activity program they run three days a week for kids under the age of five—and it happened to be running on Friday, from 10:30-11:30.

A farm program just for kids! I could hardly wait.

Alice and I sang our way up the highway and east towards Woodinville. I told her what a barn is (“I love barns,” she said). And when we saw one—a rambling white old thing off to the side of the road—we were both excited. We pulled into the dirt parking area at the farm to find many children, many parents, and a buzz of excitement about the place. We waited in line to pay our six dollars for participation, then went to the large covered area where there were a series of picnic tables and everyone seemed to be gathering.

There were “bean bins,” containers filled with dried beans and corn that the littlest children were having fun running their hands through.



Then a woman from the farm jumped up and, like a summer-camp counselor, told us about the day. The theme of the week was sunflowers, she said. She sang a sunflower song and showed us how to make the gesture for “flower” in sign language. She then explained the crafts projects that were on the tables in front of us—a crayon coloring project, and sunflower crowns we could make from construction paper. There were tractor rides to go on, and the goats and ducks were available for visits. We also got to pick one of the large, blooming sunflowers to take home with us. We could do the activities at our own pace, she said.



Alice and I decided to make our sunflower crowns first (“I love sunflowers,” Alice said), and when we were done she decided she liked mine better than hers. “You wear this one, Aunt Ti-ti,” she said, and I obliged. When your two-year-old niece likes your coloring project, you take it as a compliment.



Then waited in line for the tractor ride. The tractor, when it arrived, was pulling a wagon filled with hay bales and we clambered aboard. The friendly farmer called Alice “little sunflower” as he helped her into the wagon, and we made our way towards the front and sat down on a hay bale. From up in the tractor we could see the flower gardens filled with blooms of different colors—golden sunflowers, red and pink dahlias, purple lavender. “Look, lavender,” Alice said, pointing to the hazy purple blooms across the field. This kid amazes me.



The tractor took a trip around the farm, the farmer/driver pointing out the different crops. “This is our summer squash on the left; here’s where our corn maze is going to be for Halloween; here’s the pumpkin patch” (“I love pumpkins,” said Alice).

Next we decided to smell the lavender (“I love lavender,” said Alice).



And to pick our sunflower (“Let's take this one, Aunt Ti-ti," Alice said, holding onto a stalk. "This is the one I love").



Then we fed the goats. I showed Alice how to put her hand forward, palm flat and fingers held together, so no one would accidentally nibble or bite her little digits (“I love the goats,” she said. “How about the ducks?” I asked. “They’re funny," she said, "but I don’t love them.”).



Then, as we were heading back to the car feeling tired from a full morning in the sun, we stopped at the farmstand. I wanted to buy some summer squash, perhaps some berries if they had them.

There were no berries, but there were purple cabbages. Alice fell in love with a purple cabbage.

“Can we take this home with us, Aunt Ti-ti? I love it.”

Who can say no to a child in love with a cabbage? (how often does that happen?)

Alice was so in love with the cabbage that she had to have it with her in the car seat on the ride home ("I love it so much," she said).



And when we were home she had to have it on the table next to her during lunchtime. Then, partway through lunch, she tried to take a bite out of the cabbage. She didn’t manage to scrape off much of the vegetable with her tiny little teeth, but enough to get a hit of the strong flavor. Then she didn't like it so much anymore. "Daddy will cook it so it tastes good," we promised her.

The sunflowers were put in water. We told tales of tractor rides and pumpkin vines, and Alice insisted on sleeping with her sunflower crown in her crib with her when it came time for her nap that afternoon.

“I love the farm,” Alice said.

I do too, Alice. I do too.



The Farm Tots program at South 47 Farm is held every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, from 10:30-11:30, from June 13-October 26 (for summer 2007).
Each class includes wagon ride, art or nature activity, and a chance to pick a child-sized portion of a seasonal U-pick crop. Every week is a new theme—bugs, flowers, seeds, worms, bees, herbs, etc.

The program is offered to children five and under, with an adult parent or guardian. The cost is $6 per child, accompanying adult is free of charge. For more information, call Cindi at 425-753-0756 or see the South 47 website.