Fun with Farms

With fall come leaves, apples, pumpkins and beautiful colors.  All of these things come together at the farm, so that is what we studied this week.  We started by making a list of things that you find on a farm.  They did really well (however I was not so successful at making a barn out of construction paper.)  

The kids got to show their stuff by writing about what they like to eat that comes from a farm.  

They also cut pictures out of magazines to show things that come from a farm.  One day we read all about farm animals and the kids chose their favorite one to write facts about.  Sorry I don't have any pictures of that day's work.    

We read lots of farm books this week.  The kiddos were so into it that they started bringing farm books from home to share with their classmates!  We read Mrs. Wishy Washy and made puppets to act out the story.  I sent the puppets home and told them to retell the story to their parents.  I wonder how many of them actually did.

I thought it would be fun to celebrate our farm week by making something to eat.  We made butter!!!  It is simple, so if you are studying farms or cows you should give it a try!  Pour about 1/2 cup of cream into a jar (I used glass jars I had at home, but any sort of container should work as long as it doesn't leak).  

Then shake!

I prepared two jars, so I called two students over to shake while the rest were doing their phonics work.  When they looked like they were starting to get tired I had them switch with someone.  They got such a kick out of this.  They were also working their muscles, as one student pointed out.

I didn't even tell the kids what to look for, but they knew when it was ready!  It separates into butter (the solid) and whey (the liquid).  I used a spoon and scooped the butter out of the jar, leaving the whey behind.

As you can see, one of the butters became a little more solid and yellow than the other.  I guess those kiddos were better shakers :)

 I spread a little butter on some saltine crackers for the kids to try.  Eight out of ten gave it a thumbs up and wanted seconds and thirds!  Overall, I think our butter was a success.