We started our day by meeting farmer Ali, who led us to our lovely spacious classroom for the day, which was just across the yard from the milking parlour. The children got ready for their adventure around the farm by putting on their wellies and listening carefully about how to stay safe during the day. It was all very exciting!

Ali then took us across to the milking parlour where the children were shown where the cows would stand to be milked and the equipment that is used. They were fascinated to have a close-up look at a cow's tooth that Ali had in a jar. It was much much bigger than our teeth!  Then Ali showed us a horn and explained it was made from hair but explained that none of the cows on the farm actually have horns, as they remove them so that the cows do not injure each other whilst being milked.

Next, it was time to have a go at milking the farm's model cow! The children were fantastic at remembering to pull and squeeze the udders and they all made it look much easier than it was. After that, the children were excited to go and get muddy and visit the 250 adult cows out in the field. They listened carefully as Ali explained the dangers of the electric fence and how the cows move from field to field, eating the delicious grass and other plants that are growing there. We soon found the herd and the children noticed that the cows had tags in their ears and numbers on their bottoms. Ali explained that this was instead of a name and a way of keeping track of all the cows on the farm. Ali then explained that the cows in the field were all mummy cows and that their calves were inside in a barn. We couldn’t wait to go and meet them!

Back at the barn, the children had to first clean their wellies by standing in a bucket of special disinfectant. This was to stop any germs from the field making the calves unwell. The children remembered to use a gentle voice when they were in the barn and stayed nice and calm. The calves were only between 1 week and 4 weeks old and the children were such great farmers that Ali said they could go into the pens in pairs and get a little closer to them. The calves were very curious and the children loved having the opportunity to stroke and watch them up close. 

Then it was time for lunch, so we made our way back to the classroom. However, we were not alone at Bore Place that day as the BBC were filming a program about the special educational needs opportunities that Bore Place offers. The children had to tiptoe past the cameraman and the presenter, which was very funny! The children absolutely loved their packed lunches and tucked into all their yummy sandwiches and snacks. Farming seems to make you very hungry!

After lunch, it was time to get back out into the field and visit the part of the farm where the vegetables were grown. The children could spot broccoli, pumpkins, squash, kale and lettuce growing. The children were on the hunt for herbs for their next activity, so for this we visited the kitchen garden. Here Ali showed the children how to identify oregano, rosemary and thyme, and they then worked together to collect some in their cups for our cooking activities.

Back in the classroom, the children listened to the instructions about how to make cheese and herb shortbread biscuits. They collected the equipment from the kitchen and worked in groups to weigh out the ingredients. The most exciting ingredient of all was the butter, which we made ourselves from some double cream from the Bore Place dairy! The children had to shake it really, really hard in a sealed container and after a few minutes we could hear what sounded like water inside. This was the buttermilk separating and the cream turning into butter. We then added this to our mixture to create the biscuit dough. The herbs from the garden were added and the children carefully cut out little biscuit shapes from the dough and placed them on the baking tray. Soon enough the biscuits were ready to eat and they were enjoyed with a delicious cup of milk from the Bore Place diary of course!

Sadly, it was time to go home after cleaning up the classroom and the happy but quite tired children returned to Russell House in time for a story and home.

We will be writing a thank you card for Ali and the team at Bore Place to say thank you for such a lovely day out.