Our elementary school tours are an interactive, hands-on experience that looks at, among other things, the importance of water and water conservation, how we plant new orchards, how we protect blossoms from cold spring temperatures, the importance of bees and pollination, regular orchard maintenance, harvesting, the importance of eating fresh and learning where their food comes from. We will also include resources to tie the Utah core curriculum to items that will be discussed in the tour. We will provide an activity booklet for the children to fill out as part of the tour so that they may better remember the items discussed.

Our educational tours will begin on September 20, 2021, with a few select dates in October where we can ensure that there is fruit available for the children to harvest as part of the tour. Harvests are usually completed by October so earlier groups will have a better tour experience and selection.

Plan on spending two hours at our location. The educational portion will last between 45 minutes to 1 hour. The mode of transportation once on the farm will be by a tractor-pulled wagon. There will be 3 educational stops along the tour, with the last stop ending at the "Back Forty", where you will then have access to the pumpkin patch activities for up to 45 minutes of free time. If your school brings lunches, there is a pavilion at the pumpkin patch where your students will be able to eat during this free time.

In addition to our educational tour, we will provide each student and adult:

• A fresh apple cider doughnut.
• An apple or peach (the students will pick this on the tour).

In addition, students from public schools will also receive:

• A free pass to return in October and enjoy our Pumpkin Patch activities (value of $12).
• Additionally, each class can harvest one pumpkin per class to display in their classroom as a reminder of their time on our farm.

*Please note that the entire tour is outdoors. Make sure your class dresses for the often cold and sometimes wet fall weather.

Here is a preliminary list of the Utah core items you may expect us to cover, either entirely or partially, on the tour:

First Grade

Science Standard 4.2

Students will gain an understanding of Life Science through the study of changes in organisms over time and the nature of living things.

Objective:

Living things change and depend upon their environment to satisfy their basic needs.

• Make observations about living things and their environment using the five senses.
• Identify how natural earth materials (e.g., food, water, air, light, and space), help to sustain plant and animal life.
• Describe and model the life cycles of living things.

Integrated Core 1.1

Objective:

Describe and practice responsible behaviors for health and safety.

• Describe the benefits of eating a variety of nutritious foods.
• Describe the benefits of physical activity.

 

Second Grade

Science Standard 2.3

Earth and Space Science. Students will gain an understanding of Earth and Space Science through the study of earth materials, celestial movement, and weather.

Objective:

Observe, describe, and measure seasonal weather patterns and local variations.

• Compare and contrast the seasonal weather patterns during the school year.
• Analyze and interpret data such as temperatures in different locations and different times.

Science Standard 4.2

Students will gain an understanding of Life Science through the study of changes in organisms over time and the nature of living things.

Objective:

Identify the basic needs of living things (plants and animals) and their abilities to meet their needs.

• Communicate and justify how the physical characteristics of living things help them meet their basic needs.
• Observe, record, and compare how the behaviors and reactions of living things help them meet their basic needs.
• Identify behaviors and reactions of living things in response to changes in the environment including seasonal changes in temperature and precipitation.

Integrated Core Standard 1.1

Students will develop a sense of self.

Objective:

Describe and adopt behaviors for health and safety.

• Explain the importance of balance in a diet.

 

Third Grade

Science Standard 5.1

Students will understand that the sun is the main source of heat and light for things living on Earth. They will also understand that the motion of rubbing objects together may produce heat.

Objective:

Provide evidence showing that the sun is the source of heat and light for Earth.

• Compare temperatures in sunny and shady places.
• Observe and report how sunlight affects plant growth.
• Provide examples of how sunlight affects people and animals by providing heat and light.
• Identify and discuss as a class some misconceptions about heat sources (e.g., clothes do not produce heat, ice cubes do not give off cold).

 

Health Education Standard 6.1

The students will understand how a healthy diet and exercise can increase the likelihood of physical and mental wellness.

Objective:

Compare personal eating habits with a balanced diet.

• Record daily food intake.
• Determine a balanced diet based on the Food Guide Pyramid.

Fourth Grade

- We are still working on the integration of the elementary school tour into the fourth-grade curriculum...

Fifth Grade

Science Standard 5.1

Students will understand that traits are passed from the parent organisms to their offspring and that sometimes the offspring may possess variations of these traits that may help or hinder survival in a given environment.

Objective:

Using supporting evidence, show that traits are transferred from a parent organism to its offspring.

• Make a chart and collect data identifying various traits among a given population (e.g., the hand span of students in the classroom, the color, and texture of different apples, the number of petals of a given flower).
• Identify similar physical traits of a parent organism and its offspring (e.g., trees and saplings, leopards and cubs, chickens and chicks).
• Compare various examples of offspring that do not initially resemble the parent organism but mature to become similar to the parent organism (e.g., mealworms and darkling beetles, tadpoles and frogs, seedlings and vegetables, caterpillars, and butterflies).
• Contrast inherited traits with traits and behaviors that are not inherited but may be learned or induced by environmental factors (e.g., cat purring to a cat meowing to be let out of the house; the round shape of a willow is inherited, while leaning away from the prevailing wind is induced).
• Investigate variations and similarities in plants grown from seeds of a parent plant (e.g., how seeds from the same plant species can produce different colored flowers or identical flowers).

Health Education 6.2

The students will understand how a healthy diet and exercise can increase the likelihood of physical and mental wellness.

Objective:

Evaluate personal activity level and food intake with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and plan ways to improve health.

• Compare daily food intake and caloric output with Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
• Determine how changes in personal activity level and/or food intake may benefit personal health.

 

Sixth Grade

Science Standard 5.3

Students will understand that microorganisms range from simple to complex, are found almost everywhere, and are both helpful and harmful.

Objective:

Identify positive and negative effects of microorganisms and how science has developed positive uses for some microorganisms and overcome the negative effects of others.

• Describe in writing how microorganisms serve as decomposers in the environment.
• Identify how microorganisms are used as food or in the production of food (e.g., yeast helps bread rise, fungi flavor cheese, algae are used in ice cream, bacteria are used to make cheese and yogurt).
• Identify helpful uses of microorganisms (e.g., clean up oil spills, purify water, digest food in the digestive tract, antibiotics) and the role of science in the development of understanding that led to positive uses (i.e., Pasteur established the existence, growth, and control of bacteria; Fleming isolated and developed penicillin).
• Relate several diseases caused by microorganisms to the organism causing the disease (e.g., athlete's foot -fungi, streptococcus throat -bacteria, giardia -protozoa).
• Observe and report on microorganisms' harmful effects on food (e.g., causes fruits and vegetables to rot, destroys food-bearing plants, makes milk sour).

Health Education Standard 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4

The students will understand how a healthy diet and exercise can increase the likelihood of physical and mental wellness.

Objective:

Evaluate food intake and levels of activity.

• Analyze food intake and compare to Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
• Modify personal eating and activity plans to promote health and well-being.
• Choose activities to maintain or improve fitness.
• Examine how weight can be managed in a healthy manner.

Objective:

Explain nutritional labeling and identify nutritional content.

• Recognize serving size information.
• Compare similar products and determine the nutritional values of each.

Objective:

Recognize the dangers of dysfunctional eating.

• Identify eating habits that may be dysfunctional; e.g., unbalanced diet, fad dieting, starving, compulsive overeating, bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa.
• Determine how dysfunctional eating may have negative effects on mental, physical, and social health.