MSU Tollgate Farm and Education Center

This week we began thinking about garden design and perspective as we prepare to visit our educational garden next week, where Farm Sprouts will dig in deep to explore their questions and ideas related to growing and designing healthy gardens. Garden design and map-making, in particular, continues to be a point of interest.

We experienced beautiful spring weather for our fourth week of the program! The farm is in full bloom. Farm Sprouts voted for apple or cherry blossoms and harvested an asparagus spear with their name on it to sign in this week. A photo of two of our favorite farmers, Will and Darby, accompanied the sign in activity to prepare Farm Sprouts for visiting the C.S.A. field to harvest their snack. We also welcomed our newest bunny family, a mother rabbit with eight kits. They give us the opportunity to develop skills related to the care of other living creatures and to developing our understanding of the characteristics and needs of mammals, as our kits nurse, rest, and play. We danced the “Bunny Hop” by Patty Shukla in honor of our newest additions to the farm community this spring.

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Farm Sprouts peeked at maps, photos, globes, and other tools and objects related to mapping and design. Our Audubon birds helped us consider the meaning behind the phrase: bird’s eye view! We’ve been thinking about birds quite a bit lately, so it was fun to consider how the world might appear through the eyes of a bird. We read the book, Duck, Rabbit by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, giggling at whether we thought we were seeing a duck or a rabbit! We’ve visited the platform in the Children’s Garden to see how the farm looks from that point of view.

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In the Sakura Garden, our Japanese cherry orchard, Farm Sprouts had time to play as birds, to construct farm and Sakura garden small worlds in a trough or utilizing a variety of special materials. They could play as birds with the nests and wings they created.

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In the C.S.A. field, Farm Sprouts had the opportunity to harvest asparagus with our Sustainable Agriculture team. Farmers Will, Darby, and Gwen rotated as they were available from field work to interact with and support Farm Sprouts with this fun task. Asparagus is a perennial crop and Michigan is 2nd in the nation for production. To read more, visit: https://www.canr.msu.edu/asparagus/ Farm Sprouts munched on raw, freshly harvested asparagus accompanied by organic round crackers with pecorino romano cheese, an Italian cheese made from sheep’s milk. As we work with our animals and explore concepts related to food systems, we develop our understanding of mammals and their products, which includes milk we can utilize to make cheese. Farm Sprouts will know where their food comes from!

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This week we began thinking about garden design and perspective as we prepare to visit our educational garden next week, where Farm Sprouts will dig in deep to explore their questions and ideas related to growing and designing healthy gardens. Garden design and map-making, in particular, continues to be a point of interest.

We experienced beautiful spring weather for our fourth week of the program! The farm is in full bloom. Farm Sprouts voted for apple or cherry blossoms and harvested an asparagus spear with their name on it to sign in this week. A photo of two of our favorite farmers, Will and Darby, accompanied the sign in activity to prepare Farm Sprouts for visiting the C.S.A. field to harvest their snack. We also welcomed our newest bunny family, a mother rabbit with eight kits. They give us the opportunity to develop skills related to the care of other living creatures and to developing our understanding of the characteristics and needs of mammals, as our kits nurse, rest, and play. We danced the “Bunny Hop” by Patty Shukla in honor of our newest additions to the farm community this spring.

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Farm Sprouts peeked at maps, photos, globes, and other tools and objects related to mapping and design. Our Audubon birds helped us consider the meaning behind the phrase: bird’s eye view! We’ve been thinking about birds quite a bit lately, so it was fun to consider how the world might appear through the eyes of a bird. We read the book, Duck, Rabbit by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, giggling at whether we thought we were seeing a duck or a rabbit! We’ve visited the platform in the Children’s Garden to see how the farm looks from that point of view.

In the C.S.A. field, Farm Sprouts had the opportunity to harvest asparagus with our Sustainable Agriculture team. Farmers Will, Darby, and Gwen rotated as they were available from field work to interact with and support Farm Sprouts with this fun task. Asparagus is a perennial crop and Michigan is 2nd in the nation for production. To read more, visit: https://www.canr.msu.edu/asparagus/

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Farm Sprouts had the responsibility of caring for our goat kids this week and did a fabulous job. It’s quite a chore! We observed the goat kids wagging their tails and play in the field once their bellies were full.

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To conclude the day, Farm Sprouts munched on raw, freshly harvested asparagus accompanied by organic round crackers with pecorino romano cheese, an Italian cheese made from sheep’s milk in the Sakura Garden. As we work with our animals and explore concepts related to food systems, we develop our understanding of mammals and their products, which includes milk we can utilize to make cheese. Farm Sprouts will know where their food comes from!

This week we began thinking about garden design and perspective as we prepare to visit our educational garden next week, where Farm Sprouts will dig in deep to explore their questions and ideas related to growing and designing healthy gardens. Garden design and map-making, in particular, continues to be a point of interest.

We experienced beautiful spring weather for our fourth week of the program! The farm is in full bloom. Farm Sprouts voted for apple or cherry blossoms and harvested an asparagus spear with their name on it to sign in this week. A photo of two of our favorite farmers, Will and Darby, accompanied the sign in activity to prepare Farm Sprouts for visiting the C.S.A. field to harvest their snack. We also welcomed our newest bunny family, a mother rabbit with eight kits. They give us the opportunity to develop skills related to the care of other living creatures and to developing our understanding of the characteristics and needs of mammals, as our kits nurse, rest, and play. We danced the “Bunny Hop” by Patty Shukla in honor of our newest additions to the farm community this spring.

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Farm Sprouts peeked at maps, photos, globes, and other tools and objects related to mapping and design. Our Audubon birds helped us consider the meaning behind the phrase: bird’s eye view! We’ve been thinking about birds quite a bit lately, so it was fun to consider how the world might appear through the eyes of a bird. We read the book, Duck, Rabbit by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, giggling at whether we thought we were seeing a duck or a rabbit! We’ve visited the platform in the Children’s Garden to see how the farm looks from that point of view.

In the Sakura Garden, our Japanese cherry orchard, Farm Sprouts had time to play as birds, to construct farm and Sakura garden small worlds in a trough or utilizing a variety of special materials. They could play as birds with the nests and wings they created.

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In the C.S.A. field, Farm Sprouts had the opportunity to harvest asparagus with our Sustainable Agriculture team. Farmers Will, Darby, and Gwen rotated as they were available from field work to interact with and support Farm Sprouts with this fun task. Asparagus is a perennial crop and Michigan is 2nd in the nation for production. To read more, visit: https://www.canr.msu.edu/asparagus/ Farm Sprouts munched on raw, freshly harvested asparagus accompanied by organic round crackers with pecorino romano cheese, an Italian cheese made from sheep’s milk. As we work with our animals and explore concepts related to food systems, we develop our understanding of mammals and their products, which includes milk we can utilize to make cheese. Farm Sprouts will know where their food comes from!

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This week we began thinking about garden design and perspective as we prepare to visit our educational garden next week, where Farm Sprouts will dig in deep to explore their questions and ideas related to growing and designing healthy gardens. Garden design and map-making, in particular, continues to be a point of interest.

We experienced beautiful spring weather for our fourth week of the program! The farm is in full bloom. Farm Sprouts voted for apple or cherry blossoms and harvested an asparagus spear with their name on it to sign in this week. A photo of two of our favorite farmers, Will and Darby, accompanied the sign in activity to prepare Farm Sprouts for visiting the C.S.A. field to harvest their snack. We also welcomed our newest bunny family, a mother rabbit with eight kits. They give us the opportunity to develop skills related to the care of other living creatures and to developing our understanding of the characteristics and needs of mammals, as our kits nurse, rest, and play. We danced the “Bunny Hop” by Patty Shukla in honor of our newest additions to the farm community this spring.

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Farm Sprouts peeked at maps, photos, globes, and other tools and objects related to mapping and design. Our Audubon birds helped us consider the meaning behind the phrase: bird’s eye view! We’ve been thinking about birds quite a bit lately, so it was fun to consider how the world might appear through the eyes of a bird. We read the book, Duck, Rabbit by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, giggling at whether we thought we were seeing a duck or a rabbit! We’ve visited the platform in the Children’s Garden to see how the farm looks from that point of view.

In the Sakura Garden, our Japanese cherry orchard, Farm Sprouts had time to play as birds, to construct farm and Sakura garden small worlds in a trough or utilizing a variety of special materials. They could play as birds with the nests and wings they created.

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In the C.S.A. field, Farm Sprouts had the opportunity to harvest asparagus with our Sustainable Agriculture team. Farmers Will, Darby, and Gwen rotated as they were available from field work to interact with and support Farm Sprouts with this fun task. Asparagus is a perennial crop and Michigan is 2nd in the nation for production. To read more, visit: https://www.canr.msu.edu/asparagus/ Farm Sprouts munched on raw, freshly harvested asparagus accompanied by organic round crackers with pecorino romano cheese, an Italian cheese made from sheep’s milk. As we work with our animals and explore concepts related to food systems, we develop our understanding of mammals and their products, which includes milk we can utilize to make cheese. Farm Sprouts will know where their food comes from!

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Goats, chicks, birds, blossoms, and bunnies! The farm is full of life as we’ve settled into May. We may have soggy fields, but the rain hasn’t stopped Farm Sprouts from exploring all the farm has to offer in the spring. This week, we discussed scientists and the work they do. We have the opportunity to work alongside scientists at the farm and observe some of their work and projects. Farm Sprouts are understanding that they can work as scientists, too! We are learning to observe, question, seek answers, collaborate with others, document our discoveries, and share their current understandings. Each season we create a Wonder Wall to support our learning, from developing metacognition to building community. Read more about it here. You’ll begin to see learning artifacts appearing on the wall as part of an experiential learning process in which we work to seek answers to questions related to our overarching question of inquiry: “How does our garden grow?” At the end of the season, we invite families to join us in a “Celebration of Learning.” This includes gathering together for a wagon ride and an invitation to tour the Wonder Wall. We look forward to it every season, but we have much left to do between now and then!

Upon arrival this week, we chomped our names from alligator nests to sign in. Lots of different animals lay eggs, including alligators! We’ve been marveling at the various colors and sizes of eggs and the many creatures that make them. Our Sustainable Agriculture team grew sunflower shoots for us, which we harvested with scissors in preparation for the day’s snack. We also continued to investigate eggs in our classroom and had some fun singing and shaking eggs to The Laurie Berkner Band’s song, “I Know a Chicken.”

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Outside we continued work on our bird nest, engaged in some digging and tractor work, and created our own small farms with lots of different natural materials with animals. Farm Sprouts checked on their sunflowers and enjoyed smoothies in the greenhouse. The smoothies were a big hit! To help care for our animals, they gave milk to our goat kids and had the opportunity to milk a doe. Walking to and from the Animal Barn, they discovered baby birds in a robin’s nest we’ve been monitoring. Farm Sprouts also visited the Sakura Garden, a Japanese garden filled with cherry trees that are nearly ready to blossom and documented their thinking and discoveries in their journals. To conclude the day, they shared in the story, Whose Egg? by Lynette Evans and Guy Troughton. So many wonderful spring activities and sights! We look forward to what we might next discover with Farm Sprouts!

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Sunflower Shoot Smoothies
12 oz. coconut water
1 cup sunflower shoots (or other leafy greens)
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup frozen cherries
1 banana
2 Tbs. local honey

Note: Beginning on May 29th, we will host a small farmer’s market on Wednesdays from 4:00-6:00 p.m. Our Sustainable Agriculture Program includes a C.S.A., which stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Clay Ottoni also offers a honey stand with incredible honey products, which is where we sourced our honey from for our smoothies! We are incredibly grateful for our local Tollgate farmers and beekeepers for all they provide for us!

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