4H Club at Kinder Farm Park Share Their Animals With Community

Spring in our house means three things – more soccer, more running and racing, and more time spent at Kinder Farm Park waiting for the spring babies to be born.  Every couple of days my youngest son and I head to the barns and fields at the park to see the progress the animals are making. 

 The farm has two main barns and several fields where there are sheep, goats, turkeys, chickens, cows and pigs living all year round.  It is the responsibility of members of the Kinder Park 4H Livestock Club to tend to the animals throughout the year.  While some of the animals are owned by members of the club, it is not a requirement in order to be a part of the club.

 4H Clubs were established as a way to teach science outside of the classroom.  From its inception, the club has been about hands-on learning.  In the 1800s, the club was established as a way to teach young people who were more open-minded about new agricultural developments in the hopes that the young people would in turn bring the ideas back to the farms and their families. 

 The 4H Club at Kinder Farm Park encourages children to learn about an area that many of our children would not have the opportunity to learn about otherwise.  While the members of the club learn leadership and science skills, visitors to the park get the benefit of all of the hard work club members put in.

 Club members create posters for each of the stalls in the barns with the animal’s names and due dates before their animal gives birth.  Afterwards, they create another poster with the number of newborn babies in the litter and information about how they are cared for.

 When we first started going to the farm, my son was too little for all of the information that was provided.  Instead we would walk from stall to stall and field to field while we talked about the animals and the sounds they made.  Now that he is older we are able to teach him more and more about the growth of the animals, the way they eat when they are first born and even a little about the birth process. 

 Having grown up spending summers on my grandparents farm, I love being able to share a way of life with him that most areas are no longer privileged to.  I love having a club that is dedicated to maintaining the farm and caring for the animals.  Our time at Kinder Farm Park is the best part of every spring and something we start looking forward to even before the last snow of the season falls.