Farm Day life delights students at Morningside

Immediately after World War I there was a popular song with the refrain “How you gonna keep them down on the farm after they’ve seen Par-ee?” Well, in Houston County one could update the song by asking “How you gonna keep them down in the school after they’ve seen the farm?”

Morningside Elementary in Perry marked its first-ever Farm Day last Friday, and the school’s nearly 500 students were enthralled by the many aspects of farm life they experienced that day.

Pamela Harper, parent involvement coordinator for the school, said the event got started with a reading program.

“We wanted to incorporate agriculture in it,” she said.

Mandy Tannehill, kindergarten teacher and the school’s Teacher of the Year, said Friday’s events included a hayride, a Perry Farms visit, farm animals, butter making, ice cream making, cotton products, worm beds and exhibits from Flint Energies and Walker Rhodes Tractor Co., among others.

“My class put together the worm beds using shredded paper and tubs with holes drilled in them,” Tannehill said. “The worms eat apple cores and you water the beds and they make their own little babies.”

The kids love to put their hands into the beds and play with the worms, she added.

Making ice cream has been a hit, she said, and Harper added that butter proved to be popular.

“We use bags with heavy whipping cream, and you just shake it up,” Harper said. “And there’s nothing like it, freshly made butter on hot rolls.”

“We also have an observation bee hive with about 50,000 bees inside,” said Tannehill. “Animals include a pig, sheep, chicks, chickens, ducks, and then the goats and cows over at Perry Farms.”

Farming implements included a pecan harvester, farm equipment from Walker Rhodes Tractor where the kids were getting their pictures made sitting on a tractor, and a storyteller who talked about pecan harvesting.

In addition to the fun, there was education to be had.

“We’re just trying to get the kids to realize where their food comes from. It’s from the farm to your table, not the grocery store to your table,” said Tannehill. “Because a lot of the kids think that hamburger meat comes from the grocery store in a package. They really have no idea it comes from a cow. So we really want to introduce them to the world of agriculture.

“They’re not squeamish, they’re having a blast. They’re dressing the part. You can see their eyes light up.”

Harper said there were 16 different stations or exhibits for them to visit.

The Easy Living Plant Center donated seeds so students could take them home and grow plants such as flowers or watermelon.

Tannehill is a co-sponsor of the school’s own garden.

“The kids were kind of reluctant to get their hands dirty but now they are enthusiastic,” she said. “And the boys are more squeamish than the girls about the worms. The girls take it in stride.

“The kids in the club get to take the produce home. Brussels sprouts are a big hit. Really. When you cut them in half and bake them with bacon grease, they are pretty good.”

“We don’t raise any animals at the school. They are here today as guests, Harper said.

Areyana Adams, 10, a fifth grade student, said she liked looking at tractors and seeing what little animals eat.

“I find it all interesting,” she said, “but I wouldn’t live on a farm; I’m more of a city person.”

Classmate Meredith Tucker, 10, said she like it all, especially the animals such as the cows, the chickens and goats.

“I’ve been to a farm before, on a field trip,” she said. “I liked the animals, the tractors and all the plants. Yes, there is a lot of work going on at a farm.”

School counselor Holly Torok and special education teacher Crystal Howard had the fun job of showing how to make ice cream.

“We make primarily vanilla, but we just found some chocolate so we’ll make a batch of that this afternoon,” Torok said. “I hear a lot of ‘thanks for the ice cream, Ms. Torok,’ from the kids.”

“The recipe’s right on the wall there: 3 cups of sugar, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, then 6 cups whipping cream, 3 cups of milk and then 1 tablespoon vanilla, and that’s it,” said Howard. “It takes about 20 minutes in the maker surrounded by ice and rock salt, which makes it colder and thicker.”

The women would ask the students how many have had homemade ice cream and all their hands would go up.

“Then we asked how many of you actually made it? And all their hands would go down,” said Torok.

Fort Valley State University furnished animals, being led by Chris Sanders, Life on the Farm program assistant, who led with Smoky the lamb.

“He is 6 years old. Looks kind of skinny because he had recently been sheared,” Sanders said.

“Good afternoon, Smoky” the fifth graders yelled in unison as the lamb ignored them and quickly stuffed his mouth with grass.

Darlyn Davis from Bonaire was showing second grade students a hive and some honey make from clover and blueberry pollen. Davis said she’s been doing shows for about four years. It began as an FFA project, and she kept it up as a hobby and now visits schools on events such as Farm Day to talk with students about raising honeybees.

“This is our first Farm Day and we are a bit nervous about it but it has been going great, actually perfect,” said Harper. “Farm Credit has decided to sponsor it again next year and we look forward to it being even bigger.

“We’re going to have a milking station next year for the cow. We didn’t book her in time for this year’s event; you have to give them a six- to eight-month notice. We also plan to have a hay maze too.”

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