A cluster of third, fourth, and fifth graders chill on and around picnic tables, surrounded by a bucolic scene: fields and trees, a long red barn, a couple of sheds. Two miniature horses graze in a nearby enclosure; a pair of short-haired sheep frolic in their pasture; a farm cat ambles by. The soundtrack includes birds, crickets, the breeze, and muffled conversations of hundreds of free-range chickens.
This pastoral outdoor classroom is a destination in super state-of-the-art Bedford, Massachusetts.
Chip-In Farm has been an agricultural enclave on Hartwell Road for almost 80 years. Now it is also a regional educational center, with children’s programming throughout much of the year.
Indeed, the offerings are now a Chip-In subsidiary: Farmer’s Helpers, LLC, led by two new staff leaders, Samantha Lamar, educational programs coordinator, and Emily Holton, farm educator. Both arrived on the scene in January.
Farmer’s Helpers works in conjunction with the Recreation Department on scheduling and processing, and late last month they announced that sessions are being extended through most of August.
Sandy Couvee, part of the third generation of family ownership, traces the origin of the children’s programming back more than 15 years when visitors to the farm watched her feed young calves with baby bottles. “People started showing up and wanted to bottle feed, and someone suggested this would be a nice program through the Recreation Department. And Recreation has been unbelievably supportive,” said Couvee, known to campers as Farmer Sandy.
Since those days, “Farmer Sandy” said, “We’ve definitely cranked it up.”
“We are continually growing,” Couvee said. Different age groups (up to age four, kindergarten, grades one and two, and grades three through five) rotate each summer week (Tuesday-Friday) “We adjust our activities to the different age groups so they get the most out of what they’re doing,” Couvee said. Each session is full, and there has been a wait list.
During the fall and spring, Farmer’s Helpers hosts a pre-school program three mornings a week and two sessions for elementary school age groups, each one afternoon a week.
Lamar said in this week’s group, about half of the campers live outside of Bedford, some from as far as Somerville and Belmont. There are about 20 campers in a session; some of them sign up for mornings only. “Kids who just do the half day are reluctant to leave,” Holton said.
“We try to teach kids about the farm,” Lamar explained. “Kids learn something new, and they really enjoy interacting with animals. And how many camps are this hands-on?”
Lamar recently earned a degree in environmental science from Stonehill College, where she volunteered with the college farm to provide fresh produce to the community. The Farmers Helper’s position is the answer to her search for a job outdoors. “I absolutely love it,” she declared. “I’m learning every day.”
“What I try to implement is stuff they can’t do at home or in a typical camp program,” Lamar explained. Holton, she said, is “the mastermind of what we’re doing.” The ratio of counselors and adults is fleshed out by volunteers and a couple of high-school interns. Couvee said, “I still go out there and hang with the kids. Now we have counselors in training, I think that’s pretty cool.”
Holton is an experienced preschool teacher who also works as an emergency medical technician. “Today’s kids are so tied to technology,” she observed. As Farmer’s Helpers, “they can just be outside and be kids.”
It’s not a conventional structure. “There are certain things we would like to get done, but if something comes up, we do that. We let the kids tell us what they’re happy with. And each group is different, whether crafts and science experiments or being with the animals.”
“We have an awesome group of counselors. I plan the basic schedule, and other counselors bring their ideas,” Holton explained. “My strong suits are art, projects, and gardening. Eva (Scollo) has tons of experience with horses. Harrison (Sachs) has 4-H experience.”
“I have a fabulous crew this year and that makes all the difference in the world,” Couvee remarked. She noted that last year Julia Latady set up the formal business plan and expanded use of social media. “She brought us to another level, and now she is off doing her own program in western Massachusetts.”
“As much as we make a schedule, the kids lead us,” Holton said. “They actually love doing work, walking horses through the woods. We say, ‘What do you want to do? We will make time for it.”
Each day begins with “chores,” which Holton said engender a sense of responsibility and teamwork. There’s a group that grooms and walks the miniature horses, another cadre feeds grain – different blends for different animal species. A third unit cleans and refills water bowls and troughs. The groups rotate each day, and “by the end of the week they are walking into the barn and doing them themselves,” Holton said.
“They’re having fun but they’re learning stuff,” Couvee commented. “A lot of the lessons I learned as a kid are from the barn – responsibility, confidence. I consider it a classroom without walls.”
Tuesday morning, after “chores” and a break around the shaded picnic tables, the campers – a lot of them wearing boots — broke up into groups.
Holton announced some of the upcoming activities. One group of Helpers was assigned to clean out animals’ pens, which she described as “like scooping a litter box. It’s really important to keep animals’ bedrooms nice and clean.”
Another group went to learn how to trim goats’ hooves – “like cutting your toenails at home,” Holton said, adding, “You have to be comfortable picking up a goat and holding it.”
Eight campers traipsed into the barn and each emerged with a kid – a four-legged one. They carried the goats into a fenced area, and the bonding was immediate. Some campers held the goats; one boy spoke softly as he stroked a tiny kid. They knew many of their names – Mocha, Latte, Derby.
“I think the animals are a great tool, but for some kids, animals are not their thing. They can still find confidence and happiness in doing work,” Couvee observed. Overall, “I think there’s a big sense of community.”
Seen Around the Farm
Loading ...
