On Wednesday, April 6, Joshua's preschool class went on a 'field trip' to Oregon Dairy. I have to say that this was a little lame, in my opinion, since we as a family go to Oregon Dairy for its Farm Days (where we see the cows), grocery store (for food on occasion) and playground (after eating at the restaurant sometimes). The trip cost $3 a person and wasn't worth it, again in my opinion.
We were one of the first people there, which allowed Joshua time to play at the playground while the other children arrived. It was a bitterly COLD morning in the 40s and windy! Mrs. Dearborn, Joshua's teacher, put green bandannas on the children in her class so they wouldn't get lost. They were the 'green farmers.' She's posing for a picture with Joshua above.
Then they separated the children into groups. In our group, there were all boys except for one girl who I'm guessing needs a little assistance with her behavior. There was a also a special needs child who the aide (Mrs. Wolfe) helps. Joshua was all about being with his buddy Jackson (pictured in the middle above) and Nathan (to the far right). While Nathan's father was there, Jackson's parents were not (typically he has a nanny that brings him to school as does Nathan). You can see Mrs. Wolfe behind the boys in the picture above in the orange coat.
The first stop for our group was the grocery store. Really? Again, not my idea of a 'field trip' but I guess there aren't too many options in Lancaster County... I would have to think there would be something better, though. But, who knows? We walked through the various aisles and departments behind the tour guide who told us about the store.
Joshua LOVES chocolate milk, so he stopped right at these cases. We did get to sample a little later in the day.
At this point, though, we were also right next to the deli counter, and a woman came out to give everyone (including the adults) a nibble of cheese. Pictured below is Jacob, the little boy I was talking about before.
Next, we saw the various eggs. The tour guide told us that there are over 700,000 eggs laid daily by chickens in Lancaster County.
We also saw the bakery, where each child was given a donut hole. Then we saw the fish section, where the gentleman told the kids he was going to show them how to pick a fresh fish. He held up a piece of white fish and a squeaker and tapped the fish to make it 'squeak.' I don't think the kids got it. They've never had to pick out fresh fish, so I'm assuming that this was for the parents....maybe?
They did take us behind the produce section to the back to show us where all the food is shipped in (not grown on the farm). The woman is pointing to the big ice chest that they use to fill up the displays of ice in the front of the store.
Then she showed us where they keep things refrigerated, boxed and stored. The kids are peaking into the ice cream freezer in the photo below.
Then she let the children climb in the back of a tractor trailer. I thought Joshua might like this since he loves "Mac" and I explained that this would be how Lightning McQueen would ride. But, that trailer was DARK (even though my flash lit it up) and he was terrified. He chose not to go in with the others, and that was okay. I didn't care either way. I made the crack that once everyone was in, it would be easy to close the door and take everyone away, so I felt just as good being on the outside of it.
After the tour of the grocery store, it was time to take a tractor ride to the cow barn. And again, if we wouldn't come at least once a year to see this already, it may have been interesting. But, on a 40 degree day, it was cold and a little boring, even for the little guys. Here's Joshua posing with his friends again. His little buddy Jackson is a bit of a wild child. I'm not sure why Joshua is always drawn to these types of kids. He would make all sorts of "cross faces" (as we call them at home, when we're asking Joshua not to) and karate moves (which we had thought Joshua was trying to behave like a dinosaur until I saw him mimicking this little boy that day) and he didn't listen to instructions well. I was reminding Joshua that we set the example rather than follow someone else, especially if they are disobeying the teacher.
I tried to get a group shot of all the kids, and only one child (Chase) is missing from the photo below. He's a bit shy. But, he's pictured with his friend Jacob (a different one) in the picture below the class photo. Joshua also gets along well with these boys, who are much more calm.
We stopped in the milking barn for her to give us some facts about cows. I didn't realize that only female cows produce milk. And they only start producing milk after they've given birth. Each cow can have one baby at a time each year. They were feeding in this area, and we were told how their waste is re-used to make energy and bedding, etc. It was a STINKY place! We also learned that cows drink about a bathtub full of water each day, at least.
After this area, we went over to the milking barn. While I thought the feeding area was smelly, this was downright awful. I could barely stand it. The mix of machinery and warm stank mixed with excrement... I won't go on, but I'm hoping you can picture it. She explained that they put sterilizer on the cows and then hook machines up to milk them. The one little boy asked "what's the brown stuff on the ground?" She replied "Poop." Nice. I LOVE milk and have craved it a lot with this pregnancy, so I really didn't want to think about where it comes from. I like pouring it out of the cold gallon jug in our fridge.
Before getting back on the wagon, the boys (and one girl) were allowed to pet the calf. From what I heard from the one father, it ended up peeing on our driver's feet. What a great job! NOT!
The last stop after our hands were sanitized was for our little taste of ice cream and chocolate milk. Each child and adult got a tiny cone with one mini dip of ice cream and one swallow of chocolate milk. Afterward, the kids were told they could play on the playground; however, a good bit of it was roped off because they were working on the deck. So, it wasn't the best situation. It was also cold enough that I asked Joshua if he was okay with leaving to go home to Caleb and let Grandpa Georgia go home. He wasn't thrilled with the idea of leaving but finally agreed.
Thus ended our field trip to Oregon Dairy!
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