Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center
Farmcraft: Pre-Trip Activities
Read stories about life on a farm near the turn of the 20th century (1890-1910). Some suggestions include Century Farm: One Hundred Years on a Family Farm and excerpts from Little Farm in the Ozarks and In the Land of the Big Red Apple (see bibliography for details).
Read and talk about farm animals, including why animals are kept on farms. Many books about farm animals are available in youth departments of area public libraries.
Read about the life cycle and uses of apples.
Apples were very important fruits to the farmers of northern Indiana at the turn of the 20th century. Cider, cider vinegar, dried apples, applesauce and apple pie, along with fresh apples in season, were all commonly produced and consumed by local farmers. During the Farmcraft program at Merry Lea, students will help make cider. Before coming, have students make some dried apples to eat together or at least eat some "store-bought" dried apples.
To dry apples:
Wash apples.
Have students help peel the apples using vegetable peelers. (The apples will dry more quickly and evenly with the peels removed.)
Slice the peeled apples horizontally into 1/4" thick slices. Point out the star in the center of the apple.
Have children cut closely around the center to remove the star and seeds.
Thread large needles with pieces of thread about as long as your arm, double the thread and tie a knot about 3" from the end of the thread.
Attach the first slice by going through the center hole and then back through the doubled thread. This knots the apple to the end of the thread.
After attaching the first slice, have the children continue. Sew right through the apple pulp, slide the slice toward the last slice attached and then bring the thread back through the doubled thread as before. Be sure the students leave some space between the slices so the air can circulate.
When the thread runs out, attach the last slice as you did the first.
Hang the apple slices to dry. Be sure they are not in strong, direct sunlight so the slices can dry slowly. Also, be sure there is space between them so the air can move freely between all the slices. If the slices are touching, they are likely to get moldy before they dry.
Alternative method: Thread the apple slices onto thin dowels and hang the dowels level horizontally, supporting each end.
To make apple sauce:
Wash, dry and peel apples.
Cut the apples in quarters and remove the cores.
Have the students cut the quarters into smaller pieces. (Butter knives work well for this.)
Put all the pieces into a kettle or crock pot. Add about 1/4" of water. Cook the apples on a stove or in a crock pot. Continue cooking them until they are very soft.
Remove the apples from the stove or crock pot and allow them to cool.
Have the students run the apples through a food mill or use handheld potato mashers to sauce the apples.
Season the apple sauce with some cinnamon and/or nutmeg. Add some sweetener if only tart apples were used to make the sauce.
Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center
Farmcraft: Post-Trip Activities
Make goat milk cheese.
The goats at the Merry Lea farmstead are Nubian goats, a breed kept for their milk production. The following cheese recipes are easy to make and quite tasty. They are from Your Goats: A Kid's Guide to Raising and Showing, by Gail Damerow (Pownal, VT: Storey Communications, Inc., 1993).
Soft Goat Milk Cheese
Ingredients: Equipment:
1
quart goat milk* Kettle
(enamel or stainless, NOT aluminum)
juice
of 2 lemons Cooking
thermometer
Optional:
herbs to mix into cheese Cheesecloth
Colander
Bowl
Spoon
Warm 1 quart of goat milk to 170oF.
Stir in the lemon juice.
Continue stirring for 15 minutes. If stringy
curds don't form during this time, add a little more lemon juice.
Pour the mixture into a cheesecloth-lined
colander. Place this over a bowl and drain for at least 2 hours.
The drained curds will provide about 1/2
cup of mild cheese. It can be used like cream cheese, cottage cheese or
ricotta cheese.
The whey (liquid drained from the cheese)
makes a delicious drink combined with a little sugar or honey and chilled.
This
cheese works very well for cooking. It also is quite good mixed with
herbs and spread on crackers. It can be stored in a covered container
in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Hard
Goat Milk Cheese
Ingredients: Equipment:
4
quarts (1 gallon) goat milk* Kettle
(enamel or stainless, NOT aluminum)
1/2
cup lemon juice Cooking
thermometer
1/2
teaspoon salt Cheesecloth
Optional:
herbs to mix into cheese Colander
or strainer
Bowl
Spoon
Cheese
mold*
Warm 4 quarts of goat milk to 185oF for
5 minutes.
Very gradually stir in 1/2 cup lemon juice.
If curds and whey don't form within 15 minutes,
add a little more lemon juice.
Drain the whey. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Press the curds into a cheese mold. Set
the mold into the colander or strainer and let it drain until the dripping
stops in about 2 hours.
This
will make about 1-1/2 pounds of mild-tasting hard cheese. This cheese
is good grated onto stew, soup or pasta, or sliced for sandwiches. Wrapped
in plastic wrap it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
To
make a simple cheese mold, carefully drill small holes into the sides
and bottom of a one-pint plastic freezer container.
*Pasteurized
goat milk is available in the dairy department at food co-ops and many
larger grocery stores.
Contact a local milk or fiber goat farmer. Many of them provide programs about their animals and the products they make from their goats.
Make butter.
Many Indiana farmers at the turn of the 20th century made butter for a "cash-crop". In other words, most of the butter made was sold or traded to stores in nearby towns.
Butter
Supplies:
1
pint heavy whipping cream
Salt
(optional)
Clear
quart-sized container with tight fitting lid
2 or 3 clean marbles
Wooden
spoon, rice paddle or butter paddle (to retrieve & clean butter)
Bowl
(to hold the butter while it is being cleaned)
Pitcher
of very cold water (to wash
the butter)
Bucket
or sink (to dispose of rinse water)
Plate (to serve butter)
Pour the cream into the container and add
the clean marbles. Put the lid on and be sure it is closed tightly.
Gently shake the contents up and down and
side to side. Alternatively, the jar can be rocked back and forth or rolled
on a table or floor. Keep the motion going steadily ? if it is stopped,
the butter will not separate. Continue agitating until the butter forms. There will
be a change in sound when the butter forms; the "sloshing" sound
will become more distinct. At this point you sill see a milky liquid (buttermilk)
with globs of pale yellow butter floating in it.
Once the butter has formed, stop churning.
Open the jar and put the globs of floating butter into a bowl. The butter
needs to be washed now to remove all the remaining buttermilk clinging
to it. (Otherwise the butter will spoil.) Take the large flat wooden spoon,
rice paddle or butter paddle and press the butter against the sides of
the bowl to remove the buttermilk. You should see milky liquid ooze from
the butter as you press it. Pour off the buttermilk as it collects and
continue pressing. Pour some very cold water (so it doesn't melt the butter)
onto the butter and continue pressing the butter in the water. This presses
out the buttermilk and replaces it with water. The water will get cloudy
from the buttermilk. Pour off the water and add fresh water. Continue this
process at least two or three times. If
you're going to be saving the butter very long, keep washing the butter
until the water stays clear after pressing. (Buttermilk that remains in
butter will cause it to sour.)
Spread the butter on crackers and enjoy
it! (Mix a small amount of salt into the butter, if you wish. Salt is not
naturally present in butter and used to be added as a preservative.)
Additional butter making notes:
-
Butter making is very temperature dependent.
On cold days, butter takes longer to churn and the butter will be stiffer.
On warm days the butter will be very soft. Churning works best when the
cream and churn are both at the same temperature, around a cool room temperature.
-
It can take 30 minutes or more for butter
to form. While making the butterÉ
+
Have the students take turns shaking the
jar. While shaking it have everyone chant or sing:
Come,
butter, come.
Come,
butter, come.
(*Jenny's) at the garden gate, (*Substitute
the name of the child shaking the butter.)
Waiting
with a butter plate.
Come,
butter, come.
Come,
butter, come.
This
rhyme and variations of it have been used for many years to keep the
rhythm of churning.
+
Talk about where butter comes from. Talk
about how churning was a fairly safe and easy chore compared to many others
on a 19th century farm. Because of this, children often helped
with or did the churning.
+
Talk about buttermilk. Buttermilk is the
liquid remaining after butter forms. The butter holds more fat and is naturally
sweet, while the buttermilk is naturally more sour. It can be used in cooking
and can be quite good as a cold drink. Buttermilk is also very sticky.
Because of this it was often used as a bonding agent in glues and paints.
(Elmer's Glue used to have a cow head on the label because the main ingredient
was buttermilk!)
Additional information, pictures and stories of butter making can be found at <http://waltonfeed.com/old/butter.html>.
Read about how corn is grown and used. (See bibliography for some suggestions.)
Corn is currently a very important field crop for farmers in northern Indiana. This was also true at the turn of the 20th century, though to a lesser degree than now. During their visit to Merry Lea, students will help process corn for use as food and will also find out about non-food uses for corn (toys, etc).
Make corn husk dolls.
Supplies:
Corn
husks (12 per student)
Pan
of warm water
Heavy
thread (buttonhole thread or embroidery floss works well)
Scissors
Optional:
stuffing wool or cotton, corn silk or yarn, fabric scraps to make clothes,
glue
Soak the corn husks in warm water for about
1/2 hour.
Tie 12 husks together tightly at the top.
Fold the husks around to hide the string
and rough ends.
To make a head, tie a neck down a bit from
the top. Stuff a little wool or cotton into the head to make it the right
size if you like.
Separate 3 husks on both sides and tie them
halfway down for the arms. Trim off the excess length from the arms.
To make the body, tie the rest of the husks
just above halfway down the remaining length.
Make legs by gathering 3 husks to each side
and tying them just above the ends. Trim the ends even.
Glue on corn silk or yarn to make hair.
Use the fabric scraps to make clothing (scarves, shawls, skirts, jackets,
pants, hats, etc).
Compare "then" and "now".
Read about modern farms (see bibliography for some suggestions). If possible, visit a modern farm, have a farmer visit the class to talk about life on the farm and/or have students who live on farms talk about their lives. Have students make lists comparing similarities and differences of farm life at the turn of the 20th century and farm life at the turn of the 21st century. Alternatively, have the students make the comparisons between their lives and farm life 100 years ago.
Just a few ideas:
Then: Now:
Most people living on farms (around here) Most people living in cities or towns
Walking and wagons for transportation Cars, trucks, vans, buses for transportation
Horses for pulling farm equipment Tractors for pulling farm equipment
Most food grown at home Most food purchased at stores
Food preserved by drying, home canning, pickling Food preserved by freezing and refrigerating
Laundry done by hand Laundry done in automatic washer and dryer
Most animals kept just for their products (food, Most animals kept for pets/companionship
leather, wool, feathers, etc.)
Most toys homemade Most toys purchased
People needed food, clothing, shelter, recreation People still need food, clothing, shelter, recreation
Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center
Bibliography of Farm-Related Books
Ancona, George and Joan Anderson. The American Family
Farm. San Diego: Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich, Pub., 1989.
This
is a photo essay with accompanying text focusing on modern family farms.
There are three sections, each of which focuses on a family farming in
different parts of the United States. The text is written at reading
level appropriate for upper elementary students.
Bellville, Cheryl Walsh. Farming Today Yesterday's
Way. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda
Books, Inc. 1984.
Follow
the seasons of a farm family that uses draft horses rather than vehicles
to farm their land in Wisconsin. Black and white photos show the horses
working with equipment similar to those used on Indiana farms at the
turn of the 20th century.
Bial, Raymond. Portrait of a Farm Family. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1995.
This
book tells the story of a modern farm family in Illinois. Four generations
of this family has lived and worked their farm, seeking to be as self-sufficient
as possible. Photos of this family taken over ten years show many aspects
of farm life. The text is written at a middle to upper elementary level,
though it could be easily adjusted to read to younger students as well.
Bial, Raymond. Corn Belt Harvest. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1991.
This
photo essay traces the modern production of corn from fallow winter fields
through late fall plowing. It also addresses modern uses of corn. It
is very nicely illustrated with many photos. The text is at an upper
elementary reading level.
Emery, Carla. The Encyclopedia of Country Living:
A Old Fashioned Recipe Book.
Seattle: Sasquatch Books, 1994.
"Practical
advice, invaluable information, and collected wisdom for folks and farmersÉIncludes
how to cultivate a garden, buy land, bake bread, raise farm animalsÉmilk
a goatÉbuild a chicken coop, catch a pig, cook on a wood stove,
and much, much more." This
book is a valuable resource to provide background information for a unit
on farming.
Fleming, Denise. Barnyard Banter. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1994.
Search
for goose while visiting all the other noisy farm animals in this beautifully
illustrated book. Brilliant handmade-paper pictures portray a barnyard
bursting with color, energy and sound. The simple, rhyming text is ideal
for preschool through early elementary-age students while older students
(especially those interested in art) will enjoy the pictures as well.
Florian, Douglas. A Year in the Country. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1989.
This
picture book focuses on a farm and the animals and people that live there.
Each page spread is titled by a different month and shows some of the
activities and events typical of that month on a farm. This is a very
nice book for preschool and lower elementary students.
Johnson, Sylvia A. Apple Trees.
Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Co., 1983.
This
middle to upper elementary level book traces the life cycle of apples
from flower and leaf buds opening in the spring to pruning of trees in
the winter.
King-Smith, Dick. All Pigs are Beautiful. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 1993.
This
elementary-level book is a lighthearted, beautifully illustrated overview
of pigs.
MacBride, Roger Lea. Little Farm in the Ozarks.New York: HarperCollins, 1994.
This
is the second in the series of biographical books tracing the life of
Rose Wilder (daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder). Since this book is set
in the late 1800's, it provides a look at some of the joys and challenges
of farm life at this time.
MacBride, Roger Lea. In the Land of the Big Red Apple.
New York: Harper Trophey, 1995.
This
is the third in the biographical series about Rose Wilder. This book
continues the story of the Wilder family's life on Rocky Ridge Farm.
While set in Missouri, many of the activities and situations are very
similar to those that could have been experienced by farm families in
northern Indiana in the late 1800's.
Peterson, Cris. Century Farm: One Hundred Years on
a Family Farm. Honesdale,
PA: Boyds Mills Press, 1999.
This
is a beautiful, short children's book comparing life on a Wisconsin family
farm from the time it started in the late 1890's until 1999. Photos from
the early years on the farm are juxtaposed against current photos of
the author's family still living and working on the farm founded over
one hundred years earlier. The clear, concise text also compares and
contrasts life across the years. This is written at a middle to upper
elementary reading level although it is a very appropriate length to
read to lower elementary students as well.
Sears, Roebuck and Co. 1897
Sears Roebuck Catalogue.
New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1968.
This
is an exact reprint of the 1897 edition of the Sears Roebuck catalogue.
It provides a marvelous look at tools and equipment, clothing styles,
kitchen utensils, groceries, stoves, musical instruments, cameras, furniture,
harness and saddlery, sporting goods and many other items available for
anyone to purchase in 1897.