Posted by Mrs. Nordenson, 2nd Grade
Early this fall I met a wonderful family who had just recently joined my second grade class and the All Saints Catholic Academy family. As I began to get to know the Carpenters, I began to learn a little bit about their family business; it was intriguing and might make for a great class field trip. I knew this was something that was so completely unfamiliar to my students, yet it was right in their own backyard. It was important to me that they have the opportunity to open their eyes to this unique local business.
Jeff, Melanie, and Lily Carpenter own and operate Zack Woods Herb Farm in Hyde Park. They grow and harvest organic, medicinal herbs and ship them all over the country and world. When I first asked them in the fall about the possibility of a field trip at the end of the year, they were just as excited as I was and began planning our day right away, even though it was many months away. Lily would come into class on countless days, “Mrs. Nordenson, on our field trip…”.
On Thursday, May 29th all twenty of my second graders plus a few chaperones invaded the Carpenter’s farm. They had the whole day planned out for us! First, we took a walk through their woodland gardens with fellow second grader Lily as our tour guide. Here we were shown goldenseal, wild ginger, and bloodroot. We learned all about the medicinal properties of these plants and about how the Carpenters were growing them not only for their medicinal purposes but also because these were endangered species of plants. Needless to say, the students were especially excited to learn about the bloodroot as it’s root lives up to its name and looks just like a bloody finger (gross!).
From the woodlands, Lily guided us up to the vast fields of herbs to the rows and rows of mint and lemon balm. Lily expertly described each of these herbs and the children picked their own to sample. The kids picked handfuls of the delicious smelling herbs to put into baskets that would be collected to make their very own herbal tea. Many of the kids couldn’t resist the smell of these herbs and were constantly holding them up to their noses. We were only a half hour into our field trip and already I was hearing, “This is awesome!” “This is the best field trip ever!”
We ended our herb walk with a tour of the greenhouse and drying house completely constructed by the Carpenters. We planted Calendula seeds in pots that the kids could take home to watch grow as well as a chamomile plant that the Carpenters so graciously planted for us several weeks prior so that it would be fully ready for the kids to plant after the field trip.
Then it was time to play on some farm equipment. We learned all about the water wheel transplanter that Jeff rebuilt to make transplanting the herbs in the spring a bit easier for his family and workers. The kids eagerly climbed on the tractors and probably would’ve stayed on them a lot longer if it wasn’t for their hungry bellies!
For lunch we found a grassy spot in the warm sun, which sure wasn’t hard to do in this place or on this bright and sunny day. As the kids ate, Melanie brought out ice cold glasses of herbal tea that was freshly made using all of the herbs collected by the kids on our herb walk.
After lunch and a little playtime we gathered together and learned about honey. While the Carpenters don’t currently have active bee hives on their farm, they have in the past. Jeff showed the class the honeycomb and taught them all about how the bee makes the honey and the comb. Then it was time for some taste testing! We all got to sample a spoonful of raw honey right off the comb. The kids were delighted to taste nature’s sweetness.
What do the Carpenter’s do with some of their honey and beeswax from their hives? Well, they use some of it in their own lip balms. Melanie took us through all the steps in making our own lip balm and the kids were amazed! They got to choose from three different essential oil flavors: orange, vanilla, and lavender to add to their own lip balm. And right in front of them, they watched Melanie melt some beeswax, add a little grapeseed oil, a bit of honey for sweetness, and a drop of their favorite essential oil. She poured them into small tubes (just like you get in the store!) and after they hardened in the freezer for a few minutes we were able to take them home.
After an eventful day of learning and fun, it was time to head back to school. This day was more than I ever thought it would be. The Carpenters put in so much time and effort into making this day a truly extraordinary day for the kids. Both kids and adults alike remarked about what an incredible experience it was and everyone learned so much. The second graders were great listeners and asked great questions, as did the chaperones! My objective of wanting my students to learn not only about something that their fellow classmate is passionate about, but about a unique business that is helping our local and world community right in their own backyard, was met beyond my expectations. This really was “the best field trip ever”!
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