Photos from a Wintery Land School

E1 students making bread on a Wednesday visit
to take back to share with their class

Farm Stay 2, December 1-18, 2014

by Miguel
Thursday, December 4

         Today is Thursday and is day four of our Farmstay visit. It has been great so far and has not only been educational, but fun as well. It started off a little boring. We did math silently for about an hour but it only got more fun from there. We transitioned into a class called occupations. This is where the group was divided into two groups that both worked on things that improved the land school. There is the food group, which cooks lunch for the Farmstay, and there was the fibers group, which was getting wool from the sheep and using it to make crafts. I was in the food group and my friend and I were in charge of making bread dough. It was so much fun. We messed up the recipe twice but we made great dough in the end. It was then time for lunch. After lunch we did something called micro economy. It is where you start a small business with a friend and work on making crafts to sell at the land school event that comes up later in the Farmstay. After that we had some outdoor time. We played broom-ball on the ice. Everyone was falling every five seconds and we were pretty terrible but everyone had a great time. We had dinner and then study hall. This was a time not only to get work done, but also to get into a calm mood. We had closing where we each got a minute to tell stories about our lives. Some were really funny but it was nice to share an experience with the group. After that it was time to go to bed. We all fell asleep exited for the next day.

by Ben
Friday, December 5

Today is Friday and we are all super excited for the weekend. We have had such a great time and learned so much. I have been working in the food occupations group. I am doing a project on Portuguese food with Miguel and have already learned a ton. It has been very interesting and enjoyable to be able to research this country. Tonight we are also watching a movie. Some of us are very excited while others, mainly the boys, are not so excited due to the movie being Dream Girls. But regardless we all can’t wait for the weekend and just to be able to hang out together. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the Farmstay will hold in store for us. 

by Muriel
Saturday, December 6

When it’s cold outside, you have to find ways to occupy yourself. Whether that be ping pong or reading a book or eating, entertainment is essential for your sanity.

Even though the basement is chocked full of board games and cards, we have yet to touch them. The most popular activity has been needle felting. The boys have created what hey call “the bonnet.” And they worship it; along with Halos.

Us girls, on the other hand, have been busy drawing with markers and walking around when it’s really cold outside (which hasn’t been all that often).

Although we’ve been good at occupying ourselves so far, pretty soon we’re going to need to get a little more creative, and that’s when things get interesting. Stay tuned.

by Thea

Sunday, December 7

         Today was a very lazy day for us all until around 2:00 in the afternoon when we were guided to go on a hike. We all decided to go to the pine forest. Some of the girls were already on a hike so they met us there but me, not being one of those girls, got my outdoor gear on and trudged through the snow with the rest of the group that was still at the homestead. Once we reached the pine forest we winded through some of the trees until we reached a point where we all sat down and decided what we wanted to do next. We ended up passing up a game of thicket to walk to the climbing tree, which none of us had been to. Once we reached the climbing tree Donna kindly brought back the part of the group that was tired and cold, which included me, while a couple others stayed and climbed the climbing tree. 

Our long hike back turned into a quick one when the majority of us decided to begin running through the thick stomped down cornfields once we saw the homestead. Most of us came back to a little chunk of “free time” which most of us spent talking and drinking our elaborate cups of hot chocolate. Its was overall a nice afternoon which left us all ready to sleep.

by Noah 
Monday, December 8

         Today besides our normal activities, we had a special activity called the Mentor Lunch.  The Mentor Lunch is where our Farm-stay splits up into mentor groups and goes on a hike.  Before the hike, students pack a lunch to have on the hike.  Our group went to the Bird blind and back.  When we got to the bird blind, we went inside the blind to have lunch.  We saw many birds including Blue Jays, Woodpeckers, and Chickadees.  Over all, it was a really fun experience.

         We also are preparing our micro economy projects for the Holiday Craft Fair.  Right now, most groups have started the construction of their food and their craft items.  A few groups including mine made test batches of the food that we will be selling at the Holiday Craft Fair.  Over all, today was a very productive and good day.

by Kalina

Tuesday, December 9

Nothing very exiting happened today and I want to take a different approach on the blog so I am going to talk a little about Farmstay and what it is. 

Farmstay is about building community but at the same time becoming independent and finding your voice and where you stand. It is an interesting concept, when I tell people about it they either think it is very cool and say I am lucky to have such experiences or they ask me, “Where do you go to school?”

Living on a farm for three weeks with a group of kids you have usually only just seen around school and barely know is a very interesting experience. Usually you have a few friends too but it is mostly an unknown group. Sure you have been with these kids since pre-school but do you really know them. My answer is no, you gain a lot of friends and better acquaintances as the outcome but the process of getting there is usually painful and long. 

Like any community or household of people you get sick of each other, quarrel, disagree and misunderstand each other. The most important thing of Farmstay is to forgive and be open about your feelings. A lot of stress comes with Farmstay too and you learn how different people handle it. Basically you get an 18-day insight into how people live 24/7. 

A couple of the things we do on Farmstay besides learning about people and becoming a community are: Occupations- where we get to experience having a job that for the most part is the same day after day as well as do some farm work and help out the community, there usually is a project involved; Cook Crews / Clean Up Crews- learning to cook and clean a kitchen, basically learning life skills; Micro-Economy- learning about running a small businesses, profit, loss, overhead and crating a product appealing to customers (Please come to the Holiday Fair, 11-3 of December 13, to see our micro-eco projects and help our small businesses succeed); and then there are our Daily Cores- a time for us to have some experience having responsibility as well as cleaning up our environment and materials. 

I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about Farmstay, 

Sincerely,
Kalina 

by Julia

Thursday, December 11

            On the 11^th of December, everyone was busy preparing for our holiday event. Thea and I made blankets, and that day our fabric finally arrived…two days late. The previous day our occupations group (fibers) took a field trip to a store that had lots of yarn, felt, and looms. In occupations the next day we got to start our projects. Lily and I made a felted wall hanging; it is still in progress but looks good. For lunch someone from the food occupations group made Brazilian food. We had bean soup and other Brazilian cuisine.  We had outdoor play, much needed after our hard work during micro economy, and then our daily chores. For dinner we had enchiladas. At our evening meeting we told one-minute stories like every night, and then went to bed.  Two days until the event, we were all very excited, but very tired, so we fell asleep quickly.

by Zane

Saturday, December 13

          On Saturday December 13, 2014 we had a craft fair! We sold many crafts in preparation for the holidays. We sold a wide variety of crafts and foods; they included photo cards, snow globes, walking sticks, candy, brownies and many more! The event lasted from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Not only were there kids selling crafts but there were also other venders selling even more products! The Farmstay has been preparing for two weeks creating products, making test batches and deciding what to sell. At the fair many people came to see their children and to buy the goods of them as well as from their children’s friends. After the event was over we spent the time to clean up and bring everything back to normal.  

by Filippo

Monday, December 15

Nearing the end of our Farmstay, there is a bittersweet feeling going around. On one end you get to go home and see your family, but on the other hand you have to leave the community that we have created here on Farm stay 2. For me farm stay means a lot of things: To get the experience of working on a farm, to experience life away from home for awhile, you get to be independent and make a lot of decisions, but I think that the most important part of farm stay is the community and the people you’re on it with. Having a strong community can make farm stay an amazing experience, on farm stay 2 I have made many new friends with people that I didn’t really know before farm stay.  
Today was a pretty average day. First I got up and at 7 o clock dragged my self up to the red barn, where I fed and cared for the chickens. Then I returned and had a hearty breakfast of raisin bran. After my breakfast we had math. Then we transitioned to occupations; I am in the food occupation and in the food occupation we get to research on a certain country and we explore the part that a certain dish plays in there culture. Then after occupations we had CE/PE, which is physical expression. During CE/PE we played a game of broomball. I find broomball a rather violent sport. After our little game we had chore time during which I vigorously scrubbed toilets. After scrubbing MANY toilets I also scrubbed my hands vigorously… Then we had free time in which I was part of an intense ping-pong tournament. Then we had dinner, and because I am writing this quite a while late so I do not recall what was for dinner.

by Ara

Wednesday, December 17

        During Farmstay we have ce/pe (creative expressions/physical education) 5 times a week. During these times we do something fun and creative. At the beginning of our Farmstay the group brainstorms ideas. The things we have done so far are: tackle which is a game where you go out in the snow and tackle each other, broom ball, hike, sculpy /sledding/ tie die, another hike, snowflakes, block printing. Today we block printed which was where you take a slab of linoleum and you carve a picture into it and put some paint on it and slap it on a piece of paper and it’s block printing.

Farm Stay 1, October 13-30, 2014

Castor and Pollux
by Rachel
October 14

Today is the second day of Farm Stay 1. The weather is really nice. Some E1 and E2 students came out and helped with projects around the Land School. It was really fun and the E1 students made apple crisp and they shared some with us. It was really good. This summer we got two orange kittens. They are still smallish but really mature; except they are still working on landing on all their legs. Their names are Castor and Pollux. Pollux is more orange than Castor is. They really like chasing long plants and being held. They are really fun to have around and I think they like the farm.

The Hay River 100 Mile Local Food Challenge
by Sally

            For the next ten days, farm stay one will be participating in a local food challenge. This means that we will only be able to eat food that is produced within a hundred-mile radius of the Land School, with a few exceptions. These exceptions are that the group is able to choose ten exotic foods- foods that aren’t gown in a hundred- mile radius- to eat during this period of time. The exotic foods that we chose include: cinnamon, chocolate, salt vanilla, baking soda, rice, sugar, olive oil, pasta, cumin and pepper. (We realize that these are eleven exotics, but we decided that cumin and pepper were going to be combined into one…). Choosing these was very hard; we realized that we took so many things for granted, like spices that mainly do not grow very near to us. One thing that we enjoyed finding out was that we could remain eating cereal for breakfast- we had already gotten rid of the bagels an cream cheese, and the toast- because the malt-o-meal factory, which already supplied much of our cereal, turned out to be 98 miles away- located in Northfield, MN. This challenge has been very hard on us, even though it’s only the first day. The first thing that we realized was that, to have toast, we had to make our own bread. Then, during do-it-yourself dinner, we were struck with the fact that we couldn’t have as much freedom as we usually did in the kitchen. Instead of making Mac-and-cheese in a box, we were forced to make our own cheese sauce. By the end of this, I am sure that we will all be very grateful to have non-local foods again, although it will be a great experience.

To find out more go to…

http://www.hayriverti.org/announcements/hayriver100milelocalfoodchallenge

Cumin or Pepper
by Mehek

            I am a strong pepper advocate, “What else is going to flavor the food? ” I ask those who believe our last exotic food should be cumin. I suppose my viewpoint is because I don’t spend much time in the kitchen cooking meals, and apparently cumin is useful in that setting. But, for me, food is almost always bland anyway, and I would be in deep doo-doo if I didn’t have pepper to help a bit with that (of course hot sauce is the most optimal but that has too many ingredients be one of our exotic foods.) “They” insist that we need cumin for our chili tomorrow, I insist that is one meal, and pepper is used for every meal (and if it isn’t, it should be.) Apparently, this discussion was taking up too much of our morning meeting, so Katie decided that “cupper” would be our last exotic food item. No one could argue with that. Though it may look like we are cheating to a critical eye, this ten exotic food limit is meant for one family, and though we are like a family on farm stay, a twelve person one, is quite sizable. Coincidentally, we have twelve exotic foods as of now, because yeast was added on the next day when we started to make bread.

by Remi
October 18

Today was the last day of the first week of Farm Stay 1 2014-15. We are mostly settled in and adjusted to the schedule. We all went apple picking this morning for cider and sauce apples then we had an extensive free time where we played games explored the outdoors and some did micro eco work. We are still in our 10-day 100-mile challenge, there have been some mistakes but mostly we are doing well. Today was also the first snack day so we are able to eat the snacks that we brought from home.

by Will
October 19

            Farm Stay 1 closed out a great first week on October 19, 2014. We spent our first week getting used to our daily schedules. Working on the farm has proved to be a lot of fun. The first week was a mix of work, planning, pranks (a lot of time goes in to those), and more fun. It has been great getting to know everyone better.

            Today, we had great weather, just like we’ve had all week. We got to sleep in this morning (finally!!!). We had a great brunch, then had free time until dinner. A lot of free time was spent playing foosball or doing fun activities outside. Those activities included going to the tree house, the red barn, or exploring the woods. Many people took that time to work on getting ready for the “Spooktacular”. We finish the day with dinner, study hall and a meeting. All in all, it was a great week and a great day.

by Walker

            Over Farmstay one we’ve been doing a local food challenge. The challenge lasts ten days and we try to eat food that have only been grown and produced within 100 miles of where we live, or in this case the Land School. We are also allowed ten exotics per household, but because our group is so large we have 14 exotics. They were vinegar, ice cream, cumin, pepper, yeast, cinnamon, chocolate, salt, vanilla, baking soda, rice, sugar, olive oil, and pasta. It’s been hard and we have had to improvise and try new things like making mayonnaise, and buying venison sausage shot and processed within 100 miles. But I know many of us have broken the accidentally, like when we had do it your self dinner and I put soy sauce in my stir-fry or, some people sneaked ketchup on their burgers. But its really cool because it makes me feel better about my carbon footprint.

by Noah

October 21

            Today, we had a fun visit from the Class H students. All the kids came at around 10:30 and quickly got to our work. We had a blast harvesting, planting, and preparing vegetables. In small groups, we went off doing different things like harvesting corn, shoveling leaves, separating garlic, and planting it. They got the opportunity to work with the Junior High students on these activities as all of us got to interact with fellow classmates.

            The weather was perfect and sunny, and it was a fabulous experience for both the Junior Higher’s and Class H students.

           

            As we near the Spooktacular event on the 25th, everyone is beginning to work hard on their products for the store. There’s many food items, and craft items that we’re excited to sell. The micro-economy so far has been a crazy, but fun experience that is helping us explore and learn all about the economy with our products, on a micro and independent scale. There’ve been many test batches and experiences as we prep for a great event!

by Noah
October 22

Hi! At this point in time, there are two days until the spooktacular! People are starting to feel the tensions of living together for so long. Just like a family, we are starting to annoy each other. People have also been not getting enough sleep, just adding to the mix. Alone time, suggested by donna, is the only remedy, but it works wonders! Work for the spooktacular is coming along nicely. It is going to be truly awesome! It is taking place at 4 o’clock on Saturday, and will come to a close at 8. If you are open on that day, I highly recommend coming to enjoy this event. Three reasons why you should come:

a) there will be a store selling both all manner of deserts and snacks, and cool crafts.

b) we will have fun activities like a maze and a haunted hike.

c) one word. POTLUCK!!!!!!!!!

And your Saturday night is booked. Bam.  

Life on the farm is a great and refreshing experience. I realize how lucky I am to have the opportunity to come here.

by Eliana
October 25

            Today is the big day of the Spooktacular! All of the Farmstay students are very excited to host the Spooktacular, and sell our products that we have been working on since the beginning of Farmstay.

            Before we could even host the event we had to set it up. I worked on moving the couches and plants in the gathering room, moving the tables in the dining room and classroom so people could sit and have their dinner, and setting up spider webs to hang in the windows. By the time we were done working on the set up the homestead looked great. In the afternoon I helped get the apple cider press and the bobbing for apple’s buckets into the van so we could bring them over from the long barn to the homestead. After everything was done I was very exited to see my family and friends that were coming to the event.

by Sophia
October 26

            Yesterday was the Spooktacular event it was a lot of fun, and more people then I thought showed up. Everyone’s product sold and all of us enjoyed seeing our parents and friends that came. Today we had a clean up day but it was not that bad. After the Spooktacular we were all very tired and Katie was very nice and let us watch a movie.

            At the Spooktacular event I was in charge of the bobbing for apple station and on a half hour crew on potluck clean up and the out side casher. I really enjoyed seeing my family and friends and the event over all was a lot of fun

            We were all getting used to our new jobs because we switched our morning jobs yesterday. There is Animals, breakfast and breakfast clean up. I am on animal chores now and I am doing the llamas and sheep chores. The only thing I do not like is having to get up at 7:30 to do them.

by Davis

            The Lake Country Land School Farmstay was great. There were many challenges. Such as the 100 mile food challenge, but the challenges made the Farmstay a much more realistic experience.

            Interacting with all the animals was a cool thing to do. We got to feed the animals, pet the animals, clean up after the animalsL, and much more.

            Getting to know the other 11 people was great. I am excited to come back next year.

"Last Day" 

by Sarah
October 30

            Today is the last day of Farm Stay One, 2014. I have learned and experienced so many great things here, and I am sad that this experience is almost over, but I am glad to go home.

            Over the past eighteen days I have grown, both literally and figuratively. On October 19^th I had my thirteenth birthday, and my parents came over and gave everyone a can of silly-string, and we had a silly-string war.

            But I have also learned a lot about independence, doing my own laundry, cooking meals, and so much else.

            Right now I am listening to a song called “coming home”, and I can’t think of a more suiting song.

“I’m coming home, I’m coming home,

Tell the world I’m coming home,

  Let the rain wash away,

All the pain of yesterday

Now my kingdom awaits,

And they’ve forgiven my mistakes,

Tell the world I’m coming home.” 

Last Market of the Season

This Thursday is our last market for the year. We will have :

Beets
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Garlic
Herbs: Dill, Cilantro, Parsley,
           Mint
Kale
Leeks
Onions
Potatoes
Pumpkins
Sunchokes/Jerusalem Artichokes
Swiss Chard
Winter Squash

Harvest Baskets

Remember to pre-order your harvest basket. We will distribute them on Thursday, November 6, during the regular 4-6 pm market hours. Price is $50. They will include much of the produce listed above, as well as maple syrup and Wisconsin cheeses. You can give checks to me at the market, or to Brooks in the office. The maximum number of baskets we assemble is 50, so get your order in now to ensure that you make it on the list.


Thanks for supporting the Land School CSA program, and for welcoming me into my new role in the community!

Spooktacular Event!

Hold your plans for the upcoming weekend, on Saturday (the 25th) make sure you don’t miss out on the spectacular, spooktacular event. This gathering will include pumpkin carving, atlatl and dart throwing, bobbing for apples, a campfire with horror stories, a haunted maze, and a potluck. For the potluck, please refrain from bringing any desserts, they will be sold alongside crafts that the farm stay students have been working on. Please remember not to include nuts in your potluck dishes, as our facilities are completely nut free. Don’t skip out on this noteworthy, and annual event this Saturday, the 25^th from 4-8 PM (potluck at 5:30). See you there!

Wednesday Market

We are shifting this week's market to fall on Wednesday afternoon, from the usual 4-6pm (as there is no school on Thursday or Friday). Here is the predicted harvest list for the week:

Beets
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Garlic
Herbs: Dill, Cilantro, Parsley,
           Mint
Kale
Leeks
Onions
Green Onions
Bell Peppers
Hot Peppers
Potatoes
Pumpkins
Sunchokes/Jerusalem Artichokes
Swiss Chard
Tomatoes
Watermelon?
Winter Squash

Farm Stay 1 began this Monday. We are enjoying coming together as a community and are beginning to settle into our rhythm. Each day one of the students on the Farm Stay will be writing a blog entry, so check back here often for daily updates on this special time!

Sunny Autumn Days

This week's harvest:

Beets
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Garlic
Herbs: Dill, Cilantro, Parsley,
           Mint
Kale
Lettuce &/or Mustards Greens Mix
Onions
Green Onions
Bell Peppers
Hot Peppers
Potatoes
Radishes
Swiss Chard
Tomatoes
Japanese White Turnips
Winter Squash

End of the Harvest Season and Harvest Baskets

Including this week, we have four more markets for the season. We will be doing the Harvest Baskets on Thursday November 6th, which is the first week after the regular market ends. These baskets typically include produce (potatoes, garlic, onions, brussels sprouts, squash, popcorn, cabbage, +?), cheeses from our local dairy shop here in Wisconsin, and maple syrup. Cost is $50. They must be ordered and paid for in advance. Please let me know (in person or by email: lkosowski@lakecountryschool.org) if you would like one, so I can put you on the list. You can either pay me at the market, or send a check directly to Lake Country School (if you send a check directly to the school, please still let me know that you are ordering one). 

Farm Stay 1!

Farm Stay 1 begins this coming Monday. We look forward to all that we will get to share together during the next three weeks: cooking many meals, harvesting everything that is left in the gardens, planting herbs and tulip bulbs, working on the pizza/bread oven, hiking, getting ready for the Spooktacular Halloween Festival (which will be on the evening of Saturday October 25th), and of course much much more. Make sure to check the blog during Farm Stay for student-written entries!

 Class G Overnight

Class G was here last week for a rainy Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The rain did not stop any of the activities planned for our time together: hiking, pond study, tree identification, harvest for last week's market, and preparing for the Harvest Festival. Thanks to everyone in the class for their playful, positive spirits and for all the work that they helped us do!

Tuesday and Wednesday Visits

Children from E1 and E2 have been planning small visits out to the Land School on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings/afternoons. The trips always include some element of stewardship (work on the farm), as well as another activity that they have chosen and planned. So far this year, children have come to make beeswax candles, draw out in nature, hike on the trails and bake apple crisp.