MSU Extension Tollgate Farm and Education Center

Monday:

Welcome to Animal Camp! We have an exciting & busy week filled with farm animals, household animals, and wild animals! We kicked off the morning with flag ceremony hosted by the Yellow Peppers! They did an amazing job leading it for day one. Orange peppers will host it on Wednesday!

After flag ceremony we reviewed our C.A.R.E.S. contract with some skits hosted by the Stewards and Stewards In Training! Then it was time to get started with our daily activities!

Today was wagon ride day! We enjoyed the sun, cool breeze, and good company as we toured the farm on the hay wagon.

Then animal chores. Each group got to care for a different animal. We will rotate throughout the week. 

After chores we were off to the Edu Garden to harvest with Ms. Katie. We harvested potatoes, beans, & carrots. Then enjoyed a snack break of carrots and beans in the garden! 

Then time for Tie Dye! We got creative choosing our tie dye patterns. Cant wait to see them all on Friday! 

Then it was time for games and cooling off in Mrs. Mister! 

The afternoon was filled with learning about Ruminant Stomachs! Can your camper remember the four stomachs names?

Rumen, reticulum, omasum, abomasum. 

After this we took a goat for a haltered animal walk and had a snack break in the middle. Thanks Erma and Thea for being such good volunteer goats! 

Then we capped off the livestock learning day with sheep to sweater felted bracelets. We learned about wool and how to felt it! 

Such a wonderfully busy day! Looking forward to another tomorrow :) 

Tuesday:

Happy Tuesday! We started our morning with Garden time with Ms. Katie and the Edu Garden Volunteers. They had a busy morning morning in the garden planned including sowing lettuce seeds and learning about Spiders with some fun crafts! 

After Garden time we were so lucky to have our Farm Manager, Roy Prentice, and his dog Jack do a retrieval demonstration for all the campers. We learned about dogs used in agriculture and hunting and the learning process of training a dog and how the dog responds. 

After the wonderful demonstration we had a snack of humus and pretzels. All of the campers tasted the hummus and most enjoyed! Right after snack we got to learn about Vermicomposting and parts of worms. Campers didn't mind getting there hands dirty while the explored and learned about the life of a worm. 

After lunch we learned about proper Tollgate casting for fishing tomorrow. It seems the campers this week are naturals because everyone had it down in 2 casts. 

Next it was time to make a snack for the animals. We learned our knife handling skills and practiced cutting carrots, celery, apples, and tangerines, mixed them with molasses and oats and fed it to the goats, ponies, and chickens. The animals say it was FINGER LICK'N good! 

Today we also got to explore the pond and learn about life inside the water and on waters edge. We found fish, crawfish, snails, frogs, bugs of all sorts and so much more! 

The final activity was time for our second harvest. We harvested more carrots, onion, and basil for our mini CSA distribution tomorrow. 

What a great day! Cant wait to see what tomorrow brings! 

Wednesday:

Happy Wednesday Campers! Today the orange pepper group kicked off our morning with Flag ceremony. The capped off their ceremony with a wonderful sing after me song: "Boom Chick-a Boom!". 

After flag ceremony it was time to start animal chores. The Yellow peppers had the pleasure of milking Eva today and we all did great! 

After chores it was time to go fishing! So many fish today. Even though not all the campers caught a fish we were all good sports and supported our fellow camper friends in their catches! Great job peppers! 

After fishing it was time to cool off in the shade with a tropical green smoothie with hidden veggies. So many campers were not excited about trying this one.. we asked all to take a sip and we left with an empty bottle. Great job campers! Then to the pavilion for CSA distribution. We took our harvest, weighed it, and distributed it so that all the campers could take home a share of the harvest. We had beans, basil, potato, carrots, and onion. Hopefully your family can make something tasty with your share :) 

Then time for sheep herding with Ms. Sam! We learned about the skill it takes to herd sheep, why, and how difficult it can be! Thanks Ms. Sam! 

After herding we learned about bird migration and the risks that are included in migrating to warmer climates in the winter. Luckily I think all birds make it to their final destination, we hit some road blocks, but we did it! 

The final two activities of the day were building our Creature Creation, the STEAM project of the week, and then making bird feeders. Campers enjoyed using their hands and creativity with the clay as they created their own creatures. We cannot wait to see the finished products on Friday!