Programs for Visiting Schools
Overview
Programs for visiting schools are the centerpiece of The Farm School. Each school year, 1,500 children join farmers and naturalists on our farm for 3 to 5 day programs. The students come with their class, in groups of up to 40 at one time, many times splitting a week between two groups from the same school. Many schools bring students for multiple visits spread out over several years. While here the students find value in real work, create community that persists when they return to their classrooms, and experience first hand what it means to be a steward of the earth. It's simple but it's magical.
Every school that has come has returned. As a result, our calendar is usually quite full. However, we welcome inquires about possible visits and are always looking for ways to stretch to fit in more programs! If you are interested, please do contact Program Director Reid Bryant to begin a conversation about your school coming to The Farm School.
Regular Session
The work and care of the farm is the mainstay of the program. The farm itself is 130 acres, with about 40 acres of open land and 90 acres of woods. It is an incredibly productive place, with large vegetable gardens designed to help feed all that come, young orchards, a maple sugaring operation, a dairy with up to 12 cows milking that ships milk to a local co-op, pigs being produced for Cambridge restaurants, goats, chickens, oxen and a lovely work horse named Mack. Students are fully integrated into the farm operations, rising early for milking, tending to the garden, fields and forests, and helping to cook meals with the food they have harvested. By the time they leave, the farm is theirs.
Sample Schedule
| Monday - getting to know the farm | |
| 10:30 | Welcome and settle into bunk rooms |
| 10:45 | Meg's talk at the Horse Barn |
| 11:15 | Farm Explore |
| 12:00 | Lunch (students bring from home) |
| 1:00 | Games |
| 2:00 | Farm Work - Group I: Farm/Construction; Group II: Garden; Group III: Forest |
| 4:15 | Break |
| 5:15 | Workshop - Seeds |
| 5:45 | Chores Intro Group I: Barn; Group II: Tracking; Group III: Bunk House |
| 6:30 | Dinner and clean-up |
| 7:30 | History of Farming Slide Show |
| 8:30 | Quiet Evening Routine |
Tuesday - working the land |
|
| 6:15 | Wake-up |
| 6:30 | Chores - 3 groups rotate |
| 7:30 | Breakfast/clean-up |
| 8:15 | Yoga |
| 8:45 | Community Meeting |
| 9:00 | Farm Work - 3 groups rotate |
| 11:30 | Break |
| 12:00 | Lunch and clean up |
| 1:00 | Reflection |
| 2:00 | Farm Work Options |
| 3:30 | Snack/Free |
| 4:45 | Workshop |
| 5:30 | Chores - 3 groups rotate |
| 6:30 | Dinner - clean-up |
| 7:30 | Sing Out |
| 8:30 | Quiet Evening Routine |
Wednesday - farmers now |
|
| 6:15 | Wake-up |
| 6:30 | Chores - 3 groups rotate |
| 7:30 | Breakfast and clean-up |
| 8:00 | Pack - bags out front |
| 8:30 | Farm Work - 3 groups rotate |
| 10:00 | All Group Work Project to Final Circle |
| 10:30 | Depart for home - farewell! |
| 11:30 | Next Group Arrives and stays through 1:00 Friday afternoon. |
Partnering with Urban Schools
With a pilot project begun in 2001 on site at the Mission Hill School in Roxbury, Massachusetts we brought lessons from the farm - real responsibility, community participation, involvement in the physical world, kindness, and a knowledge of how things are built and grown - to the school itself. The outcomes of this pilot project will guide us as we begin garden, carpentry, and landscape initiatives at our partner schools.
Serving as a National Model
The success of our educational programs for children and their teachers has attracted national media attention, and placed The Farm School in the privileged position of being able to serve as a model for other programs. We are currently assisting in the growth of new farm programs throughout the country. Please get in touch with Founder and Director Ben Holmes if we can be of assistance in the development of your idea or existing program.