As  you may already know, I love fall!  As soon as the first day of autumn comes, I feel like I can hear the clock ticking down the days until it's winter.  I always feel like there is so little time to do all the fun things I want.  

I found a great website that lists the pumpkin picking and fall farm locations throughout Maryland that are open throughout the fall.  It's called Pumpkin Patches and More, and this is the Maryland page.  It includes all of my favorites: Sharp's Farm, Papa John's, Gaver Farm, and Baugher's Orchard.  I'm excited to check out a few new places this month!

from Pumpkin Patches and More

Hope you have fun this October!  Thanks for visiting :).

- Jessica

Little Ones Learning: Going apple picking!

A study of apples wouldn't be complete without picking apples.  I took my three little friends to Baugher's Orchard in Westminster, Maryland for a little apple picking adventure.

Introduce apple picking with a picture interpretation.

I chose not to tell Grace in advance that we were going apple picking.  (I didn't tell Ada or Lucas either, but they have no idea what that means ;).  Instead, we did a picture interpretation to get her thinking about the experience.  Like a guess box, a picture interpretation is a teaching strategy that promotes critical thinking and analytic skills.  
(The following picture interpretation is paraphrased from MCPS  PADI - Ricci 2007, 2010 resources.)

1.  Choose a picture that links to the topic.  

Here are a couple of paintings I found that have to do with apple picking:

"Apple Picking" by Stina Sunesson 
Found at Postcrossing

"Apple Picking Time" by Sandie Keyser
Found at Fine Art America

You could either print out the picture or just show it on the screen.  I will use the first picture, "Apple Picking" by Stina Sunnesson to give examples of what questions to ask. 

2.  Discuss the painting with your child.  

To incorporate the critical thinking skills, you want to ask varying levels of questions, starting from basic and increasing to abstract.

Start by asking your child to identify what is in the picture with questions, like "what do you see?"

Next, move to describing the things that are in the picture.  For example, "tell me about the tree" or "what do you notice about the leaves?"

After that, ask your child to interpret the painting.   This stage leads to higher-level thinking and inferencing.  Ask questions, like "Where does this take place?" What do you think the people are doing?"  "What season is it?"  "What might the people be saying to each other?"

Finally, extrapolate (what does that mean?!) and have your child draw conclusions about what might be.  For example, ask "What would it be like if you were in the picture?" "What do you think the people in the picture will do after this?" "What if this picture was in the winter, what would be different?" 

Depending on your child's age and stage of development, you may have to alter the questions a little or rely mainly on concrete questions.  But the more you do this type of activity with your child, he/she will get better at it.

3.  Make a connection between the picture interpretation and the topic.  

Explain to your child why the picture is relevant, or say, "can you figure out what we are going to do tomorrow?"  This is a good way to get your child relating all that thinking they just did with an upcoming trip to the apple orchard.

I did this picture interpretation with Grace and she actually showed me she knew a lot more about apple picking than I expected.  She also enjoyed the challenge of answering my questions.

Go to an apple orchard!

If you can, pick your own apples!  The cool thing about doing this, besides spending a day outside in beautiful fall weather, is that it shows REAL apples and REAL apple trees.  It also gives kids an idea of how we get our food, and they can add to their understanding of farms!  Plus, they get to see some rotting apples on the ground, which can spark a discussion about the life cycle of an apple tree.

We had a GORGEOUS day for our apple picking adventure, and thankfully my hubby, Matt, was able to come along!  This is definitely a two-man job for this little gang of 3.  

Ada hoarding the apples

Trying to keep Lucas from early tasting

Baugher's Orchard has a great country store, where you can pick up a tractor ride to the apple fields.  They also have a picnicking area and a fun, little playground that the kids LOVED.

 

We got some apples from the fields and peaches, mums, and a peach pie from the store!  I'd say it was a success!

Thanks for visiting and God bless!

- Jessica

Day Trip: Sharp's Farm

If you live in Maryland, you have probably visited one of the charming local farms found throughout our state.  You may or may not have been to one of my fall favorites: Sharp's at Waterford Farm in western Howard County.  It's open for fall starting next weekend (September 28) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  

Sharp's Farm is my favorite farm to go to in the fall for pick-your-own pumpkins and here's why:

1.  It's CHEAP 

It is FREE to enter the farm, FREE to park, FREE to see the farm animals, and FREE to go on a hayride to the pumpkin field.  All you pay for is the pumpkin that you picked, any additional activities, or anything you might want to buy from the awesome country store in the old red barn.

2.  It's old school.

Unlike some of the other farms with fall festivals and events, Sharp's Farm's fall season is low-key; There isn't a cow train, jumping pillow, or giant slide (which, don't get me wrong, are A LOT of fun).  It reminds me more of a real-life farm with a pond, cows, pigs, goats, chickens, rabbits, corn fields, tractors, and old barns.

3.  It's got a great little country store.

In the big, old red barn you'll find all kinds of great stuff for sale from Sharp's and other local farms.  There are foods, like apples, squash, honey, apple and pumpkin butter, apple cider, marinades, and baked goods.  They also sell fall flowers, Indian corn, gourds, hay bales, corn stalks, and other fall decorations.  And it's just super cute!

4.  It has special open houses.

These open house programs teach kids about farming or pilgrim history, and they take place during weekdays that schools are closed.  There is a cost of $7 for the kids and no cost for adults.  These programs sound just like the field trip that Grace and I went on last year with her preschool.  We picked a pumpkin, went on a special hayride that went through a stream, picked some cotton and Indian corn.  All very cool!  We are going to try to wrangle the kids to do this one time this fall.

We have been to Sharp's Farm several times and have always enjoyed it!  I love taking a little drive out to the country.  

Here are some awesome pics from past visits.

This cracks me up!: 

Grace at 1 1/2 and 3 1/2

Now I know this sounds like an advertisement for Sharp's Farm, but really I just genuinely love this place.  Hey, if you go you can always do a scavenger hunt!  Maybe I'll see you there!  

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!

- Jessica

Here is a great find from my friend Crystal: $7 for hayride, pumpkin, corn, and campfire at Sharp's Farm!  Limited time only.

Yum: Berger Cookies

Today my husband got to peruse my Pinterest board of desserts and choose something for me to attempt.  He chose Berger cookies, a Maryland classic.  I found a link to the recipe at Sweet Little Bluebird.

Photo from Sweet Little Bluebird

I haven't done a lot of cooking from scratch, since up until now life was moving at lightning speed.  These were actually pretty simple and didn't take much time.  I followed the second recipe linked from the page and made the icing first, so it could cool.  The best part for me is that I already had most of the ingredients already in my pantry (and I do not have an extensive pantry).  I did have to pick up some corn syrup (woo hoo), which I've noticed is in all kinds of fun candy and dessert recipes.  Sad how excited that made me.

My finished product doesn't look quite as nice as the picture above, but I think that's because I don't have much patience when faced with a bowl of chocolate icing. My hubby, Matt, and the girls loved them. I ended up with chocolate on my leg, as Ada (17 months) tried climbing up me to get more.  I think they were pretty delish.