Every year I take my class to Guyette Farms in Mantua, Ohio. If you refer to my post from last year, you will notice the tradition, and how highly I speak of them. Larry Guyette is always so welcoming to my preschoolers - this year was no different!
This year, "Farmer Larry" (as we affectionately call him) built a new barn that houses an indoor hay bale maze, slide, obstacle course, corn box, and the friendly farm animal petting zoo. We normally try to do this trip around Halloween - but with Famer Larry's wife expecting a baby this month, we scheduled for early in the month so we could be sure to have the great experience of his farm!
Our trip was Thursday. Weather was forecasted to be 80 degrees with a chance of thunderstorms. (Thank goodness Farmer Larry planned ahead for us with his new barn! ;-)) The morning group hurried to finish their breakfast to get on the school bus for their field trip. And we set off...
As we pulled into the farm, it was turning into a beautiful morning (note: I said MORNING). We navigated through the first part of the corn maze (Farmer Larry has made several exits since our first visit a few years ago, to accommodate our short time schedule - I told you he was great!). Then, the kids were split into two groups - one group would visit the petting zoo while the other group played on the hay bales and in the corn, then we would switch it up. The kids had a great time, and so did the adults! We even got a hay ride from Farmer Larry and his wife (yes, the wife who is due on Tuesday!).
We said our farewells and see you laters and headed back to school for lunch before going home. Then the afternoon class arrived at school.
As they bus pulled into the parking lot and I was getting the children off of it, dark clouds starting looming in on us....OH NO! We quickly ate our lunches, excited to get to the farm, and set off. Just as we pulled out of our parking lot rain drops began hitting our bus.... Disappointment grew on everyone's (mostly the adults since the kids really had no idea what awaited them at Guyette Farms) faces. How were we going to make the most of this trip?!
Well....I should have known...with the group of children I had with me that we were not going to have a problem "making the most of it." Once we dodged, or tried to anyhow, the raindrops from the bus to the barn we split into two groups again. A "play group" and an "animal group" and again we switched after a little while. I think the play area was the highlight - when my group was with the animals they wanted to play. We spent the afternoon rolling in corn, sliding in the tunnel slide, and climbing the hay bales. It was great to see my kiddos having a great time despite the rain ruining the full plans for the day (thankfully they really had no idea what was in store for them in the first place - there was no disappointment to be faced). We thanked Farmer Larry and headed back to school for a quick snack before going home.
All in all it was another successful day spent at Guyette Farms! We hope to see you again next year, Farmer Larry!
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