Maddie’s First Grade Class Trip to Stony Hill Farm in Chester, New Jersey

Last week, I had the good fortune to chaperone Maddie's first grade class trip to Stony Hill Farm in Chester, New Jersey. The first graders, teachers, and a handful of moms and dads boarded the school buses in front of Mendham Township Elementary School at 9:00am on Tuesday, October 21^st and made the quick trip to Chester. Our group was escorted into the barn for an educational session about farming that I found fascinating. We learned a great deal about growing corn, feeding livestock and the difference between straw and hay, raising and protecting bees (honey bees and other native bees), and the importance of supporting our local farmers. As many of the first graders seemed distracted, kicking the straw and stirring up dust (aaaahchooo!), I worried that our farm guide's expertise had been lost on the kids, but I was thrilled later that night when Maddie put all of the information into her own words to share it with Rex and London at the dinner table that night.

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A-Maze-ing: Corn Maze at Ort Farms in Long Valley, New Jersey

I found this A-Maze-ing aerial view photograph of the corn maze at Ort Farms in Long Valley, NJ, by Joyce Bambach in the Chester Observer-Tribune and it forced me to make a confession to you, dear readers...London, Maddie, Rex and I have never gone into a corn maze. When I see a photo like this one, I get more than a little bit intimidated....visions of Stephen King's "Children of the Corn" dance in my head and I envision the National Guard coming out to search for our family of four.

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