Milking the Cow & Churning the Butter - MW Class

"Old Bessy" was probably not so easy to milk as a latex glove with holes poked through the fingers. Nevertheless, students had fun as they got a feel for milking.

Below: Kids in the MW class put a lot of energy into shaking their jars of cream. Some fast-paced music helped us maintain our stamina!

Cream Shaking, Butter Making! T/Th Class

Making butter the old fashioned way is a lot of work! The T/Th class gets a work-out as they shake and shake and shake!

Milking the Cow - T/Th Class

With nine students, the teacher was needed more at the milking station than behind the camera! However, we managed to get a few shots of kids milking "the cow."

Making Flour the Old Fashioned Way - T/Th Class Continued

Making Flour the Old Fashioned Way - T/Th Class

Although this hand mill is not as ancient as the water mill in Pancakes! Pancakes!, it gave us all a better understanding of the making of flour. Debbie and the kids had to put a bit of muscle into this activity; but how exciting it was to see the little piles of flour finally appear.

Threshing the Wheat - T/Th Class

Pancakes! Pancakes! by Eric Carle was the inspiration for many of the farm activities you see. Jack, the main character, desperately wants a pancake for breakfast. But, living in the days of horses and wagons, Jack must help his mother obtain each ingredient before the pancake can be made.

Below, the children learn about harvesting and threshing wheat in order to get flour. With pencils acting as flails, students "beat the wheat" until tiny grains pop out of the chaff.

Making Flour the Old Fashioned Way - MW Class Continued

Making Flour the Old Fashioned Way - MW Class

This time the MW class exhibits their strength as they grind hard kernels they had threshed into soft flour. Way to go, kids!