A Dash of Smith: Old McDonald's Farm

Noah's Pre-K class along with the 4 yr old Preschool classes went to Old McDonald's Farm on Wednesday for a end-of-the-year activity. What a hit. Each child had tye-dyed a T-shirt to wear on that day. Siblings were invited. I had my sister watch Winston and I took Owen and Noah to the farm. The place is fantastic. For $5 a person you have unlimited access to: riding a train around the farm, playing on great playground type equipment-swings, pirate fort, slides etc, playing on a huge sand pile, feeding the farm animals (rabbits, chickens, turkey, cow, sheep, goats, pigs, wallaby, and donkeys), fishing for craydads, playing in a haybarn and riding horses. It really is a fun activity. Owen thought he was king because he could play with Noah's friends and classmates and be big. We were there 3 hours and were wiped out by the end.

It was fun for me to watch Noah interact with his friends...especially the infamous J. I got to talk with her mom and family for a little bit as well. She is a sweet girl and I can see why he likes to play with her. Even J's mom said, that they were a good match of personalities and played really well together. I did figure out what he sees in her too...she wanted to play with the dumptrucks and diggers on the huge sand pile for about 30 min, she ran around the pirate fort with Noah, went on the swings and generally acted like a little tom-boy. Not to mention she is a year older (her parent's used this as her Kindergarten year and she'll go directly to 1st grade in the fall.) Going for older dark haired women must be a Smith male trait...Grandpa Dave and Dad did the same thing so I guess he's following the family tradition.

Owen had a grand time as well. He even picked up on the fact that Noah has a crush on J. He kept repeating her name all day in a little teasing voice. How he can sense it at 2 1/2 I don't know but he did. Noah even got a little mad at him for saying her name so much. Owen had so much sand in his shoes by the time we left he literally couldn't walk correctly, he sort of limped out to the car.

A great way to spend the day and I recommend it to any in the area.

With some ward friends.

Playing on the sand pile, hopefully you can get a perspective of how big it is.

Owen, J, and Noah

Noah's teacher, Ms. Carolyn, I've been impressed with her everytime we have activites like this. She'll play with the kids for hours. She took her shoes off and was playing in the sand, burying her legs and theirs, she raced them up and down the sand pile, rode the train with them and built a sand castle. She was the only teacher getting this involved with the kids. Owen loves her. Noah was following J around at this point. When I see her interacting like this with the kids when she could easily sit and visit in the shade, I can only imagine how much she gives them in the classroom. KOK has earned my loyalty for years to come.