Kids' Day is always a lot of fun for the volunteers, the kids and the teachers, and this year was no different; it was just a little wet. By the time the buses arrived at Carstens Farm a little after 9 a.m., a light mist began to fall and intermittently fell throughout the day. Everyone took the weather in stride, but the adults seemed to mind a little more than the kids did!
This year, we hosted about 250 fourth and fifth graders from the Treynor Community School, Underwood Community School, Harlan Community School, Iowa School for the Deaf and area home-schooled children.
Kids' Day provides the children with a glimpse into the past and how things used to be done. It is a learning experience for both the children and adults alike. There are various stations set up around the Farm with volunteers who provide the children with a hands-on interactive explanation of each station and allows for the children to ask questions and get a feel for each station. The children are always very interested not only in having a good time, but in hearing what life used to be like. They often ask very good questions while they are busy taking in each lesson.
This year, the stations were: butter-making, rope-making, rug-making, broom-making, laundry, blacksmith demonstrations, saw mill demonstrations, threshing demonstrations, kids' games, corn shelling, cream separator, bee keeper, pedal-powered tools, steam-powered engines, soil conservation, barn tours, tours of the farm house and summer kitchen, farm tours, horse-drawn wagons, Avery tractor, 1920 school bus, live chickens, horses, corn maze, potato patch and potato chip making and making apple cider.
The success of Kids' Day each year depends squarely on our volunteers. As the old saying goes, "It takes a village to raise a child.". This is certainly true at Carstens Farm. Kids' Day requires a lot of volunteers who give their time, energy and knowledge each year. We absolutely have the best volunteers around!
If you are interested in volunteering for Kids' Day, or anything else, at Carstens Farm, pleaseContact Us.
Carstens 1880 Farmstead, Inc. PO Box 302 • Shelby, IA 51570 (712) 544-2341 www.carstensfarm.com
