One of the most fun parts of being a MK Publisher is finding all SORTS of interesting activities and events happening all around me that I can take my kids to. It's literally my job to find fun! A few months ago I noticed a local farm-based community group in Hillsborough called Spring Forest who had started a wholesome outdoor educational program called Grow It! every Wednesday morning for families ... and... bonus ... it's FREE!
As a fan of wholesome outdoor educational activities, it was on my radar to check out ASAP. Usually my kids are in school & preschool on Wednesday mornings, so the timing was a bit tricky, but I seized a recent school break as our perfect opportunity. I had a high energy 6-year-old and an entire day to make sure got full of healthy alternatives to screen time. #momgoals And my kid LOVES farms...
We arrived on a colder-than-usual March morning, not deterred by the cool (ok maybe a little), but also bundling up inside the car before daring set foot outside. We pushed the morning chill out of our minds and were greeted by warm smiles & friendly hellos from leaders Leah, Gretchen, and Elaine as we approached the gathering group of parents and children. After introductions we got right into a few minutes of morning yoga, every pose tailored to greet each individual child in their own unique way.
After yoga we stopped briefly by the outdoor kitchen to meet the guest chefs and grabbed baskets on our way to go gather ingredients.
Walking along neat farm fields being prepared for the coming season, we soon came to the farm’s greenhouse. Inside we carefully walked the neatly planted rows of vegetables efficiently outlining safe boundaries for little feet. Children were invited to help by pulling vegetables to fill their baskets. They all grew increasingly excited at their growing bounty as we walked along the rows harvesting ingredients.
After dropping the veggies off at the outdoor kitchen the group headed to the large enclosed chicken area to observe the diverse breeds of hens running around. We also got to witness the world debut of some pullets (aka tween hens) who had never been outside the building where they grew as chicks. (Spoiler Alert! They were not any more excited about the cold than we were!) Our family has a small backyard flock so my son is definitely comfortable around all sorts of chicken shenanigans, but this was a whole lot more chickens than he’d ever been so close to at once. Still, he jumped (literally) at the chance to help the pullets along in their journey OUT of their nest.
He probably would have stayed with the pullets half the day if I hadn't reminded him that there was food bring prepared, so it was on to hand washing (Chicken Maintenance 101!) before checking back in at the outdoor kitchen.
We were greeted with a fresh green smoothie made from the kale the children had just picked (my kid voluntarily ate kale! Mom win!!) and then jumped in to help with the meal preparations. As it happens, my son is currently ALL ABOUT cooking - like "I wanna be a chef when I grow up" level - so he was stoked to help the cause and made fast friends with chef Netta. He rinsed and peeled the beets the group had brought back while chatting up Netta about their mutual love of cooking. He had so much fun in the kitchen that he asked to stay and keep sous-cheffing rather than join the rest of the group on a forest walk. (Normally as I mom I try to encourage staying with the group but he was so into it and the kitchen crew was happy to have him.)
After he took it upon himself to help set the table for everyone (proud Cub Scout mama right here!) we headed over to the front of the property to feed the farm’s goats while the final touches were being put on the meal. Unlike previous goat experiences our family has had elsewhere, these goats were friendly and gentle and my son delighted in petting them and feeding them grass through the fence (no fingers were harmed!) We also experienced first hand that goat hospitality is much warmer than sheep hospitality. See: antisocial wooly white specs in the background.
At last we sat down to a delicious meal prepared on site and included fresh vegetables we had just pulled from the ground. Regrettably we didn’t make too much conversation as we were stuffing our faces with deliciousness, but our plates were cleared promptly. And as we washed our plates before heading out to pick up his little sister from Preschool, my son thanked me for taking him to the farm that Wednesday morning off of school.
The Grow It! experience truly was about Spring Forest opening their hearts and their farm to the community and inviting like-minded people to visit their home and share their bounty. We felt so welcomed by everyone and are incredibly grateful for the experience we had that day. And, at the end of it all, I felt a huge surge of #mompride knowing that my son had a great outdoor learning experience that morning ... with the help of our new friends at Spring Forest.
Note: This article reflects an authentic description of my family's experience at a local event. The opinions expressed are all my own. I was not asked to write this review nor was I given any compensation to do so.
More About Grow It! From Spring Forest:
"Grow It is a family wellness program that includes several activities for young children and their caregivers. As you experienced, these activities are physical (yoga circle, farm explorations), relational and community-building with other people, animals, and the land, and spiritual in fostering compassion, kindness and teamwork while engaged in activities. Finally, the program encourages good nutritional habits, through harvesting, preparing, and enjoying foods from the farm. Our Chef, Shanetta Edwards, is also a nutrionist whose vision is to help children choose a lifelong healthy diet.
Spring Forest is a United Methodist faith community, and part of our mission is to offer programs like Grow It in order to bring people together in wholesome, cross cultural, multifaith activities that are good for people, animals, and the earth." - Elaine Heath, Abbess, Spring Forest
Looking for more family-friendly fun around the Burlington-Hillsborough, NC area? Check out our Full event Calendar!
And sign up today for our weekly email newsletter so you never miss a thing!
A Note to Our Readers:
Readers often ask how they can support me as a small business owner.
Here are the best ways:
- Share our newsletter and our site with your local parent friends (they'll thank you for it!)
- Like and Follow us on Facebook & Instagram
- Let businesses know you heard about them through Macaroni KID when you attend local events you found out about through us
- Support our sponsors!
- Your local Macaroni Kid website and newsletter is a FREE resource because of the businesses who sponsor our site.
- Our local businesses are what helps keep our community unique and thriving.
- We greatly appreciate your support in reviewing our sponsors' articles, advertisements, and looking to our business directory to learn more about our beloved local businesses. Click on the ads and links - and if you decide to patronize these businesses, please be sure to let them know you heard about them from Macaroni KID!
Thank you for reading and supporting our local businesses and Macaroni KID!
