After our introduction we set off to the orchard and began counting rows of apple trees. We learned there were over 1,200 different varieties of apple being grown on the farm! We found some trees with blossom and thought about the bees pollinating them and then headed off to the weather station.
Here we took turns being a human sundial needle, worked out the weather direction and rainfall and had a look at all the instruments.
We returned to base via the international music garden which was a great hit with everyone, and the children were hugely experimental and lovely at taking turns.
After a break and tuck it was time for bug hunting. It was quite hot and the bugs were hidden away, so the children got digging with their tweezers and bug pots. An ant’s nest with larvae was very interesting.
Then we had lunch and an exciting play in the playground. We discovered that lots of us could do the monkey bars!
After lunch we went inside to cool down and hear a story about an apple tree through the seasons. Then we re-enacted the story, including wrapping the ‘trees’ in fleece for the winter and protecting their trunks from nibbling rabbits. We recorded our learning through colouring and pictures.
For our final activity we tasted some strawberries. There were a few minutes left before the minibus so we had a last quick go in the playground then said thank you and goodbye.