Last Preschool Fieldtrip and Kinder Camp

I accompanied Adrienne on her very last preschool field trip to the dairy farm. It was a cold, miserable, windy May day in MN, but it was a great farm full of wonderful people and educational experiences. Farmer Kevin addressed the group with some rules when we arrived.

Our group headed into the barn first to learn some cow trivia from a real live tiara-wearing princess--The Olmsted County Dairy Princess! The kids were so distracted by the cat on the hay bale behind her that they really didn't seem too interested in the cow that was in the barn. So funny.

The class with the dairy princess, farmer Kevin, and the cow they were about to pet.

Adrienne very carefully touched her ear.

Then we headed into a smaller barn where all the baby cows were held. We lucked out and got to see a calf that was born just that morning!

This calf was playing games with me.

Lastly, we went into the milking barn and got to learn about the process of milking. Adrienne didn't appreciate the smell.

The kids got to put their fingers in the milking machine to see how it felt.

Before we left, the farmers had everyone wash their hands in this awesome outdoor sink. I loved their focus on sanitary practices!!

The day after the field trip, Adrienne had her kinder camp experience at Gibbs. I dropped her off for an hour while they did little assessments with the kids and showed them around the kindergarten rooms, and then went back for a parent meeting. When I picked Adrienne up she was on top of the world. She was beaming and so excited that she got to see Jillian's kindergarten teacher, and saw Jillian in the hallway, and discovered that she knew enough sight words to be on an IRLA reading level (the reading program used in Rochester Public Schools). She hears about Jillian talk about her level all the time, so she was stoked to tell her sister that she was a reader, too! While I have known that we'd send Adrienne next year, my heart has had trouble preparing for it. Seeing her after this experience confirms that it's the right choice. She is so ready, and so, so excited for her new adventure in kindergarten next year!