This program is on pause for now.
FarmWise offers day trips experiences.
The daily schedule is as follows: In the morning, the children will do at least 3 farm activities. These could be animal care, gardening, harvesting, field work (such as cutting thistles, loading hay, or putting up fences), cooking, preserving up food, or any other farm related activity that needs doing. The idea is that the children get a sense of what it takes to run this farm. They will make it their own this way and thus when they leave, they feel that they own a little of the place!
Costs
Day trips, from around 9AM-1-2PM, are $300 pr. group + an additional $35 for each child over a group of 6. Brought chaperones are free. Snack and lunch are served and prepared by the children, all organic, if possible. Food issues are accommodated.
An agreed upon deposit (10-15% of total, usually), refundable if cancelled more than 60 days in advance of visit, is required to hold the place.
Do you want your class to have real-life memories of milking a cow and digging in the dirt?
Do you want your kids to relate to where their food comes from?
If so, this experience is for you and your students!
Here is a letter to a class that inquired about spring overnight trips:
Classes coming to FarmWise is on pause for now.
The FarmWise Set-up works like this:
We, 3 grownups, provide the morning activities that are cooking, gardening and animals chores. The feature that we are stressing is to give children the experience of DOING everything themselves here, i.e. cook the food, dig the garden milk the cow etc. It works best to have the kids in smaller groups of 3-5 kids and every day they will rotate which animal chore they will do. One day milk the cow, another milk the sheep, the third feed pigs and chickens and scoop out manure.
During the morning three work experiences, the chaperones are in charge of the kids’ trying to do everything, but not taaking over the tasks, unless really needed. The main teacher can have a break if they like.
We have now a yurt (it is almost up now) that you can stay in., i.e. ‘glamping’ is what you’d be doing here. Bring sleeping bags, but we’ll provide matresses. Out there next to the yurt, there are composting toilets and a water faucet with cold water, only. There is now electricity in the yurt. The breakfast and light supper will be brought from home by you guys and prepared by you out there. We provide mid-morning snack and the lunch which is the heavier, hot meal on the farm. Let us know all the food preferences/allergies.
In the afternoons you guys are in charge. Some classes take naps, others go hiking or get plays worked through for the upcoming performance. Your call. I need to do the lighter evening chores and those who want are most welcome to do that with me.
The price for each kid is $90 pr. full day, so it you stay 2 and 1/2 days it would be $225 pr. Kid, 8 kids minimum. Tuesday, Wed. and Thursdays in May are available at this point. Chaperones are free. We try to provide all organic food, if possible.
The kitchen and eating area that we provide for the morning is part of the farmhouse. There re regular toilets in the house, for use by you guys. There is also an AirBnB here (look for farmstay in Lake Geneva) that people who might need more privacy are welcome to rent just like other people through the AirBnb website.
A deposit of a third of the amount needs to be sent to hold the spot you chose. The remaining payment is due a week before the class arrives.
Bente Goldstein, FarmWise,
262 642 9738
FarmWiseeducation.com
W2331 Kniep Rd. Elkhorn, Wi 53121
