Hawthorne Valley Farm Ghent, NY
My Girl is almost 10!; that’s double digits. I remember when Ethan turned double digits it was a big deal in my head. Now it’s Natalie’s turn. It’s funny how different I was raising both my children. Seven years is a lot of time for change. I won’t get too deep into that now but maybe that can be another post. All in all I am so thankful for both my parenting experiences. In the end the goal is the same, right? For instance would I have had enough of my own courage and enough trust in Ethan’s school, classmates, and teachers to let him go to another state and stay at a place I had never been to before for 4 nights and 5 days without me, I highly doubt it! But I didn’t think twice about it for my girl. Folks would say wow! that’s a long trip for a 9yr. old away oh yes it is but they are so well prepared mentally there wasn’t one ounce of hesitation from anyone.
Welcome to The Waldorf’s School 3rd grade Farm Trip at Hawthorne Valley Farm! Oh! it’s been a topic of talk since we started the school and this year was the year and to put it simply it was fabulous! She left on a Snowy Monday Morning on a small but big, giant, cozy coach bus with a deck of cards and some books in hand, and ofcourse bunny! I was emailed when they arrived safely and then I didn’t hear a peep from anyone until Friday when we drove to NY to pick her cute self up!
That left Ed and I home with an empty nest as Ethan is still away at school too. We had a great week of hanging out and being our us for a bit. He was a bit more affected of Natalie’s departure than I was (following me around the house saying “what are you doing now”?, tree work is slow this time of year! ) I had some experience with letting your children go and this was a piece of cake compared to sending Ethan off.
The week went by soo fast like I knew it would and Friday we left RI at 6am to get up to Ghent, NY to have a little breakfast before we picked up our girl. When we got to the farm we spotted our girl outside waiting for her parents and the second I spotted her form 100 yards away I could see the difference in her being, it was beautiful a moment I will never forget! I hope..
Hugs went around; Daddy first!! Come on I carried you inside my body for 9months! I got over it, hehehe! Then we were off to tour the farm with Natalie and her newfound maturity and confidence. She was leading us; it was so cool. We first toured the house where she stayed. There were 2 girls rooms and downstairs was the boys room. Mr.Gilligan, her teacher was with the boys and Judy Sky a past Waldorf teacher was with the girls! The house was simple and a perfect place to relax after a days work on the farm, which is what they did most of the day everyday! In the house they had a room to make bread, butter, and yogurt! They had a big living room where they danced at night to Mr. Gilligan and his guitar! They slept in bunkbeds in a pink room! The boys slept in the “ice” room.
After our house tour we got our tour of the farm! On the Farm lives Cows (lots and lots of them) , sheep (only a few), chickens, pigs, and horses! There were a few calves born during the week. The kids didn’t experience the birth but got to be with the calves afterward. The kids were split in groups and stayed in those groups all week. They all did their chores together and one morning they were woken up at 5am to go feed and milk the cows by hand! It was a beautiful experience for her and I am so thankful for it. After the cows, we visited everyone else sheep, chickens, horses, and the PIGS. My gosh those pigs had us in hysterics!! Oh she also got to ride one of the horses. I was secretly hoping she would miss the horse riding sooo much she would want to take lessons again but no such luck. I miss going to the horse barn at home!
In the end it was a success. We didn’t pry her with questions as to let her soak it all in but I keep getting bits and pieces weeks later and it’s fun to hear about still. If your ever in the area of Ghent, NY check out the Hawthorne Valley Farm Store. It’s a great place to grocery shop! Thanks for getting this far with me… enjoy the day
xo, M