Our Last Full Day at the FARM!

Today I fed the new baby calf a bottle.  He was born the day we arrived (March 26th).  He was so sloppy, he kept getting milk all over me!  Did you notice the blanket on him?  He looks warm, but sometimes he gets cold.  After we touch the heifers, we can't touch the babies.  This is so we don't expose them to germs and they don't get sick.  I had so much fun feeding the baby calf because he's so cute.  Sometimes he even sucks on the bars of his pen, which is funny.  I love it here in Vermont.  I never want to go home.  -- Eileen

The cow udders felt like wrinkly earlobes or a slightly deflated water balloon with pressure on it.  After awhile the milk came out really, really fast and you got used to the feel of the udders.  The trip to this farm is really, really, really fun!  This is a really good experience and my favorite parts have been taking care of a calf and milking a cow.  As city kids we've been able to experience what it's like to be on a farm instead of having everyone do everything for us.  -- Henry

I made a new friend -- a calf named Natasha.  She is a very enthusiastic calf.  She is very nice, likes to suck on people's hands, and she likes it when I go up to her and scratch her chin.  She is my favorite.  -- Julian

Today I milked a cow.  It felt like the soft spot on your ear.  The cow I milked was at the end of barn and her name is Butters.  Also, my favorite cow is Winter.  Winter is aggressive cow and she stands up for herself.  She can also be nice, especially to kids.  My favorite part of the week was feeding the newborn calf named Basher.  Basher was one of my favorites because he was born on the day we got here.  -- Ivan

This afternoon we played Farm Jeopardy and we had to answer questions about each farm topic.  First, a person from each team would go up to the chairs.  Then Chris or Molly would ask a question and we had to ring the bell and then answer the question.  Whoever got the question right, they got to pick a topic and a number.  One time they asked us which side a rooster lays an egg on, but roosters don't lay any eggs!  I said left, and it was wrong.  I think I got tricked because I thought roosters could lay eggs, but they don't.  I kind of got excited and then I got tricked.  I think I'll always remember now!

Today I got to feed the calves and hold a chick.  The calf I fed was named Jemini.  I used some math I'd learned in school today when I was helping take care of the calves.  I used fractions when I was measuring the food for the calves.  We had to add fractions to figure out how much food to order.   I also noticed that there were themes in the way that they named the animals.  For example, Happy and Joy are related and they both are named after feelings.  Also, Winter and Frostbite and related, and they have to do with the seasons.  The goats are named Eva and Rory and they're named after Walt Disney characters.  Rory is having two babies very soon.  She had two babies before, and they were named Zack and Cody.

I don't want to leave this place ever.  -- Desiree

Today was my first time meeting Jinger.  She is very awesome, but sometimes she can be scared.  This is my last time to see her.  That makes me feel sad.  I had fun feeding her milk because she liked to grab the bucket with her chin and then drink it and splash it everywhere.  Even though I spilled a little, she drank the rest.  When I was cleaning Jinger's manure, she would grab the handle and push it the way I needed the rake to go.  I hope someday I can come back here.  When I'm here I feel happy and excited that we do chores and that we can be with the animals.  When I go back to school I'm going to remember to listen more and not to have attitude.  I've learned that Ms. Van really likes animals and that she will try to do any work, so we tried to help her.  -- Destiny

This is a picture of me and Astrid.  Astrid is a calf who is very shy because during the first month of her life there weren't any kids around her.  To take care of Astrid I had to giver her milk replacer and more grain.  I also had to put more sawdust inside her pen and clean out the manure.  I liked Astrid because she friendly.  While I've been on the farm I've learned more about Astrid and how to take care of her.  -- Amanda

I am milking a cow named Butters.  At first it was kind of hard to start milking cow, because you have to get used to the sensation of squeezing the teats.  You'd be surprised how fine the jet is that squirts out from them.  They're like little hoses.  It's takes half an hour to milk one cow by hand and it takes six to seven minutes to milk a cow by machine.  By hand you can do at most two teats at a time, but by machine you can do four teats at a time and it's faster.  As Chris, the dairy barn instructor said, the teats feel like earlobes, but slightly hollow.  Before you milk the cow, you have to put a pre-cleanser on the teats to protect the teats from disease and the milk from bad bacteria.  Then you milk the cow, and afterward you put something on it that's kind of like Elmer's glue because it dries on the teat, therefore protecting it from disease because the muscles became relaxed while milking.  I'm glad I'm not squeamish, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to milk this cow.  -- Helen

Ivan and me Pedro drinking fresh milk out of the cow. Today we were going to the dairy barn for the first chores and we had to rake up cow manure.  Then we had to put it in the machine.  Once it went through the machine it went into the dumpster.  Then we learned about the how cows make milk and where the milk goes afterwards.  Then we got to milk the cows and drink raw milk.  I learned a lot about cows today!   -- Pedro

Day 3 on the Farm

Today I milked a cow for the first time.  I felt nervous at first when I felt it because it felt like rubber.  Then I milked it and it was ok. When I first got to the farm I felt really scared of the cows.  We have been cleaning their manure and feeding them.  Some of the adults and my friends have helped me feed them and take care of them.  I'm glad that I did these things.  -- Joel

This is a picture of me on the first day at the farm.  I am petting a cow in the dairy barn.  The cows in the diary barn make milk.  They get milked twice a day.  I learned a lot being here and I've done a lot of new things.  -- Kaya

This is a picture of me petting the cow named Happy and feeding her.  The cow doesn't like to be poked.  If it is poked, it will shake its skin because it will think it's a fly on it.  You should pet it nicely.  My favorite thing about the farm is the cheese.  At first I didn't like the cheese house because it was stinky and it was boring.  But then I started to like it because we cleaned the cheese and we cleaned the sides.  We got to taste the cheese.  It is called Tarentaise and it tastes good.  There's another cheese called Reading.  That one was good, too.  The farm is really fun and it's big.  Today when I fed a calf it was chewing my glove and licking me.  -- Jerrod

These are pictures of me feeding the cows at the farm.  The left picture is of the heifers and the right picture is of the mothers in the dairy barn.  The cows in the dairy barn have already had babies.  My first day feeding a cow I was very scared.  Then I tried it and it was ok.  I'm having a lot of fun here.  I do not want to go back home -- it's too much fun!  Here things are different from Boston because there are farms, animals, no tv, no phones, or any electronics.  First when I came here I didn't see tv and thought it would be boring, but it's not because we do a lot of things here.  We wake up at 6:30 in the morning and we go to sleep at 8:30 at night.  When we wake up in the morning we do our am chores and then we have breakfast at 9:00am and we get confused and think it's lunch.  And I think lunch is dinner.  I miss my family, but I'm ok.  The ones I miss the most are Gia and Gabriel.  I wish that Gabriel and Gia could do this in 5th or 6th grade because it's a lot of fun and awesome.  --Destiny

Day 2

Today we had to collect all the sap buckets and I was scared of the bugs that were inside the buckets.  I didn't want to pick up the buckets and I kept making excuses.  Then Ms. Herzig made me go and get the buckets and I acted like I was a giant stepping on all of the thorns and that no bug could hurt me.  This is a picture of when I wasn't scared anymore.  I'm having a good time and I'm learning new things about different animals and about myself.  I learned different things about my friends, too.  -- Kerah

We're about go to the aging room where all of the cheese starts aging to get more flavor.  It's also a place where they don't get bad.  This is our group about to go in the room.  The room smells very weird because there are hundreds circles of cheese.  The weirdest thing is that each circle of cheese is twenty pounds! The process to mold the wheel of cheese takes 24 hours.  It takes a year to age the cheese!  The other cheese takes only 6 months. The outfits we wear are special and a tiny bit too big. They prevent bad germs from getting in to the cheese. We wonder what we will do next !?  -- Aleene and Helen

This is a picture of the first time I have ever milked a cow.  This cow's name is Butters.  At first I thought it was kind of disgusting because it's a cow and it had all its own manure and pee on itself, but then I saw Chris clean the cow before we milked it.  Then before we milked the cow, a man made sure the milk could come out.  At first I didn't really want to do it, but then when I saw all of my friends milking the cow I thought it was kind of cool, so I tried it.  It felt like the soft spot on your earlobe.  Then we had a little taste of her milk and it was warm, nice, and healthy.  -- Mayalee

In this picture we are in the small animal barn and I am caring for a calf named Jemini.  When you bring in the milk for the calves they get really excited and they start jumping like reindeer.  Yesterday, when we arrived at the farm we went to the dorms and we moved into our rooms, then we were informed by Chris that a new baby calf was born right before we arrived.  When we finally saw that new calf, he seemed small but he was actually bigger than what I thought he would be.  I think that this farm trip will be a very good experience.  -- Miles

Today after lunch, the whole group collected sap buckets.  I am holding a carton full of the lids that go on the sap buckets.  Every spring, the people at this farm collect the sap from the trees to make maple syrup.  This year the weather messed up the trees functioning.  The sap isn't running anymore because the weather changed from really warm to cold.  Last week it was really warm.  Now the farm can't make a lot of maple syrup.  This farm is a nice place to be at.  -- Ivan

We Made It To The Farm!!!

I made it to the farm!!!!!!!!!!! When I first came to Spring Brook Farm I thought it would be a good time to work with our class and figure out hard problems. I also learned to make a good relationship with our  class and be a very helpful Manning Senior to both our school and our community. In this picture this is my friend Jerrod and me, Pedro. We're watching the baby calf eat. What I learned is that helping each other together makes everything better.  -- Pedro

Today was an adventurous day for me on the farm without any electronics or other distractions - just farm life.  In this picture I fed a lot of the heifers (female cows that have not given birth yet).  Over the next few days I'm going to have fun and have more adventures with all of my classmates.  -- Imani

Today Aleene and I were feeding cows in the dairy barn.  We took the hay and broke it up into pieces called flakes.  We put them where the cows eat.  The cow liked the hay that we fed them.  We both liked feeding the cows.  I feel that the trip to Vermont is awesome and educational.  This week I will want to learn more about farming.  -- Desiree

This is a picture of me feeding a cow.  I think his name was Infinity.  When I was feeding the cow, I was scared that it would bite my fingers because it was close to my hand.  At the beginning of the day I was scared to touch the cows but by the end of the day I found out that they are really nice.  I hope to ride a horse this week.  I'm glad I'm here.  -- Liibaan

Tomorrow We Leave For the Farm!

Tomorrow morning, 18 Manning Seniors will be driving up to Reading, VT, to visit Spring Brook Farm.

I am so excited for what the week will bring!

Best Wishes for the New School Year!!!

To all of our Manning Seniors from last year, we wish you the best for a great year in 6th grade.  We can't wait to hear about what you do this year -- make us (and yourselves) proud!  Have fun and learn as much as you can.  Don't forget all that you learned at the Manning about how to treat yourselves and others.  The possibilities for what you can accomplish are endless!

-- Ms. Herzig and Ms. Van

Day 4 Movie Stacking Hay in the Dairy Barn

We had just tossed hay down from the lofts above the barn where the cows live and we needed to organize and stack the hay.

Movie from Day 3 In the Dairy Cow Barn

This was Day 3 in the Dairy Cow barn.  We were getting the cows ready to go outside into the rain for a shower so we could clean out their stalls.

Back in Boston...

Hey it is Shelbbie. The farm was awesome.  I did not realize that I spent 5 days without any electronics!

P.S  the food there was AWESOME

Taking hay from the attic

We have just finished dropping hay from upstairs and we are organizing it.

As you can see the cows are still trying to eat it!  -- Jardel

Day 4 on the Farm!

After seeing the farm's cheese being made yesterday, we learned how to make our own cheese.

First you heat raw milk and then you add an enzyme from a calf's stomach and it separates the milk into curds and whey.  The enzyme is also what adds flavor later on.  Then you cut the curds and press the mixture to separate them.  This is what David is doing in the picture. It doesn't really look like or taste like the cheese we eat yet, because it hasn't been aged.

 Walking the path to the barn.

We went to visit the horses by the Hagadorn's house.

They are the people who started this program for city kids 18 years ago! 

 Chris and Kaitlyn taking turns holding one of the ducks.

The cows eat so much hay we had to get some more from the hay loft above the milking cows.

 Raven in the hay loft.

Terrell and Cohen helping the hay we threw down get to the right place in the milking barn.

The hay landing in the milking barn -- the cows are already trying to eat it! -- Jardel

Heading back to our dorm on the path.

After working all week, we played a Jeopardy game to review all of the things we'd learned.

The goats

Hi it's David again and I'm in Vermont! We have to take care of animals on the farm for our work.  Today we had to clean out the goat barn and they got to run around while we worked.  It was fun.  There is Zack, Cody, Aunt Tootise and many more.  So while we were working the goats were running around and having fun. In the picture it shows how the goats play.

Day 3... Chores, Ms. Herzig's Dad, Cheese, and More Chores!

Wake up early for morning chores!  Get Clementine's snout in your face! 

Bluegrass wants to lick Carlos' pants! 

Three different colored eggs from the chicken coop. 

 This is my favorite heifer Juno.  I like her because she is not like the other heifers.  She doesn't try to take other cows' food.  She's patient and waits for it.  -- Raven

We love the cow faces we see every day!

Carlos took a picture of me and Martini.  Don't lick my face!  -- Jardel 

 My dad came to meet the students, see the farm, and talk about Vermont and how to play the harmonica.  They had heard he could play Rockin' Robin, so he played it for them and gave them a chance to try making notes, too.  -- Ms. Herzig

First try at playing the harmonica.  -- Jardel

I blew so hard into the harmonica that almost lost my voice.  -- Shelbbie 

This is when we all tried playing the harmonica to see if people could hit a single note on it.  I did well hitting five or six notes at once.   -- Cohen

Astronaut!!!  This is actually a white suit for cleaning cheese.  You have to wear one to keep bacteria away from the cheese.  -- Jardel 

The cheese wheels were really heavy and you had to get used to the smell, but near the middle you got used to it and you got used to turning the cheese and picking it up.  -- Kaitlyn

 Peeking through the cheese shelves.

This is when I had to clean a year old cheese wheel.  It was smelly, old, wrinkly, but it was still cheese.  -- Dean

We had to wash the cheese and this is the way you do it.  You have to take a cheese cloth (a rag) and dip it in salt water and then wring it out so it doesn't drip anymore.  Then you have to scrub off the top of the cheese, then you have to scrub the sides.  Then you have to pull the cheese out so it's peeking out of the shelf so it can air out.  -- David

It's kind of tricky to feed the cows because they're trying to get at the food while you're pouring it down. You're lucky if your cow is leaning in the other stall next to it, trying to get another cow's food.  -- Kaitlyn

The milk inspector was telling us about the milk and the milk pump.  He was pointing at the DHIR card that every cow has.  It tells how many pounds of milk they've produced and how many calves the cow has had.  Also it tells the cow's score which has to do with how well the cow is producing the milk and if the milk is good.  -- Carlos

I brushed Lenore's tail and her hip.  People have to do that to clean the cows off because they can't do it themselves.  Also, in the winter they grow more hair to keep them warm and in the summer they don't need it.  So we brush it to help them get rid of the extra hair.  -- Shelbbie