Life on the Farm
Don't forget to be kind to one another, always try your best at everything you do and most importantly stay safe when visiting any farm!
January
Hello everyone! I hope you are all keeping safe and well. My name is Mr. McCarthy, I am a teacher in your school, some of you may know me as your teacher and I live on a Dairy and Beef farm. Over the next few weeks I will be talking to you about farming. We will be discovering all the wonderful things about life on the farm and looking at some of the different animals we have living with us from our dogs to our cows and much more.
Let me introduce you to our pet cow Daisy. She has lived on our farm for many years. She is a British Friesian Cow and produces milk for us. We have two dogs called Millie and Rusty. Millie is a miniature Jack Russel and Rusty is a Golden Irish (Golden Retriever x Red Setter). Millie is 6 years old and Rusty is only 3 months old.
Here is a short introduction video about our farm. There will be more to follow!!
Let me introduce you to our pet cow Daisy. She has lived on our farm for many years. She is a British Friesian Cow and produces milk for us. We have two dogs called Millie and Rusty. Millie is a miniature Jack Russel and Rusty is a Golden Irish (Golden Retriever x Red Setter). Millie is 6 years old and Rusty is only 3 months old.
Here is a short introduction video about our farm. There will be more to follow!!
Hello everyone!
I hope you are all keeping safe and well! It is important to be kind to one another, just like it is important to be kind to animals. if you are kind to animals, they will be kind to you. The same can be said for your friends and family. If you are kind to other people, they will be kind to you. Being kind to others can make you feel happy.
I hope you enjoyed the video about our farm. When you are talking to your teacher, classmates and family at home you could discuss what animals you saw in the video, what is the name of my pet cow and two dogs, what colour is my tractor and baler. As well as that could you figure out what colour hat and jumper I was wearing?
Best of luck!
I hope you are all keeping safe and well! It is important to be kind to one another, just like it is important to be kind to animals. if you are kind to animals, they will be kind to you. The same can be said for your friends and family. If you are kind to other people, they will be kind to you. Being kind to others can make you feel happy.
I hope you enjoyed the video about our farm. When you are talking to your teacher, classmates and family at home you could discuss what animals you saw in the video, what is the name of my pet cow and two dogs, what colour is my tractor and baler. As well as that could you figure out what colour hat and jumper I was wearing?
Best of luck!
Cows are nearly ready to give birth. Exciting times!!
Some of our cows are nearly ready to calf (give birth to a baby cow). The cows have been placed in a calving pen (maternity ward) to ensure the cows are extra comfortable and have even more space to give birth. The calving pens are covered with a straw bedding for extra warmth and comfort for the cows and calves. Can you help me name the cows? What colour are the cows, how many cows are in the calving pen and can you remember what breed the cows are? Watch the video below to find the answers and learn more about life on the farm.
Our daffodils are beginning to blossom!
We planted these daffodils at the end of Autumn and they are growing well. They are now beginning to flower. Can you draw a picture of a daffodil at home? Have a look outside and see if you can spot any daffodils or other flowers growing.
Our new born calves have arrived!
Hi everyone! We have welcomed some new calves to our farm this week. They are British Freisian calves and they are twins (a boy and a girl). In the pictures below you can see them in the same calving pen as their mother.
After a calf is born, their mother licks them clean (like having a bath), this helps to build a bond between the mother and her calves. Shortly after the calves are born they would be able to stand up and walk over to their mother to drink her milk. The first few days after a cow has given birth her milk would be full of extra nutrients. This milk is generally yellow in colour and is referred to as bee-stings and helps to build up the calve's immune systems to grow up big and strong.
Talk to the people at home with you about what you see in the pictures below. Here are some conversation starters for this activity.
1. What is the calf doing in the first picture?
2. How many calves are in the second picture?
3. What is the cow looking at in the third picture?
4. What are the calves lying on?
Take a look back over the previous videos to help answer some of your questions and to help think of more questions to ask each other.
You all are doing great and keep up the hard work! Stay safe and be kind to one another from all of us at St. John's and Mr. McCarthy's farm.
After a calf is born, their mother licks them clean (like having a bath), this helps to build a bond between the mother and her calves. Shortly after the calves are born they would be able to stand up and walk over to their mother to drink her milk. The first few days after a cow has given birth her milk would be full of extra nutrients. This milk is generally yellow in colour and is referred to as bee-stings and helps to build up the calve's immune systems to grow up big and strong.
Talk to the people at home with you about what you see in the pictures below. Here are some conversation starters for this activity.
1. What is the calf doing in the first picture?
2. How many calves are in the second picture?
3. What is the cow looking at in the third picture?
4. What are the calves lying on?
Take a look back over the previous videos to help answer some of your questions and to help think of more questions to ask each other.
You all are doing great and keep up the hard work! Stay safe and be kind to one another from all of us at St. John's and Mr. McCarthy's farm.
February
Quick update on our calves!
ince our last episode of Life on the Farm we have had many more calves born on our farm. They are British Friesian calves.
Can you remember what colour straw is?
Why do we use straw as bedding for the cows and animals?
What colour are the calves?
Why can't calves drink lots of milk all of the time and need to eat hay?
How many calves are in the shed?
What is the name of the shed they are staying in?
Have a quick chat with people in your house and brainstorm some names for the eight calves.
Draw a picture of the calves playing in the shed as well.
What material are the walls of the cow house made of?
Can you remember what colour straw is?
Why do we use straw as bedding for the cows and animals?
What colour are the calves?
Why can't calves drink lots of milk all of the time and need to eat hay?
How many calves are in the shed?
What is the name of the shed they are staying in?
Have a quick chat with people in your house and brainstorm some names for the eight calves.
Draw a picture of the calves playing in the shed as well.
What material are the walls of the cow house made of?
Watch the video below to meet our calves.
Watch the video below to find out even more fun things about our calves.
There are new born calves on Ms. Walls farm!
Ms. Wall was so kind to share this picture of some new born calves on her family farm. So say hello to her calves!
What colour are these calves?
Are they different in colour to calves on my farm?
Ask someone at home to help you google why calves/cows/cattle are different colours? Could it have something to do with what type of breed they are?
Can you suggest some names she could call them?
What colour are these calves?
Are they different in colour to calves on my farm?
Ask someone at home to help you google why calves/cows/cattle are different colours? Could it have something to do with what type of breed they are?
Can you suggest some names she could call them?
Some other animals that like to visit our farm.
'Harry the Hedgehog'
We have regular visits from 'Harry the Hedgehog' to our farm. We like to leave some nibbles out for him to snack on so he can grow up big and strong.
Some fun facts about Hedgehogs:
1. They are nocturnal and come out when it is starting to get dark.
2. They hibernate from late December/early January until March. This can vary depending on the individual hedgehog (some hibernate earlier/later and some do not hibernate at all).
3. They have needles on their back and they roll into a ball if they feel scared to protect themselves.
4. You can attract hedgehogs to your garden by leaving some food and water out for them to nibble on.
5. They like temperatures over 5 degrees celsius and higher. If the weather is still freezing they will hibernate for longer.
6. They like to make their nests in areas of the garden and ditches that are untouched/left to grow wild and that are never sprayed with chemicals.
7. Hedgehogs may visit your garden when you are having dinner to see if they can have some of your left overs.
Can you think of some fo the food Hedgehogs like to eat?
Where do they like to make their homes?
What do they do when they feel scared?
What is unique about hedgehogs?
If you can't think of the answers ask someone in your house to help you google the answers with you. See if you can find some extra information about Hedgehogs.
Let's see if you can draw a picture of 'Harry the Hedgehog' having some nibbles in our garden.
Some fun facts about Hedgehogs:
1. They are nocturnal and come out when it is starting to get dark.
2. They hibernate from late December/early January until March. This can vary depending on the individual hedgehog (some hibernate earlier/later and some do not hibernate at all).
3. They have needles on their back and they roll into a ball if they feel scared to protect themselves.
4. You can attract hedgehogs to your garden by leaving some food and water out for them to nibble on.
5. They like temperatures over 5 degrees celsius and higher. If the weather is still freezing they will hibernate for longer.
6. They like to make their nests in areas of the garden and ditches that are untouched/left to grow wild and that are never sprayed with chemicals.
7. Hedgehogs may visit your garden when you are having dinner to see if they can have some of your left overs.
Can you think of some fo the food Hedgehogs like to eat?
Where do they like to make their homes?
What do they do when they feel scared?
What is unique about hedgehogs?
If you can't think of the answers ask someone in your house to help you google the answers with you. See if you can find some extra information about Hedgehogs.
Let's see if you can draw a picture of 'Harry the Hedgehog' having some nibbles in our garden.
Our cats are feeling comfy in the garden.
We have lots of cats on our farm. They like to visit the garden because we leave food and milk out for them. The cats are very quiet and enjoy playing with each other, climbing trees, shrubs and playing hide and go seek.
Write down a list of food that you would feed to a cat?
Do they like to play with balls of yarn?
Can you draw these cats perched in one of our shrubs?
How many cats are in this picture? Don't forget to look really closely because one of them is hiding on us.
Write down a list of food that you would feed to a cat?
Do they like to play with balls of yarn?
Can you draw these cats perched in one of our shrubs?
How many cats are in this picture? Don't forget to look really closely because one of them is hiding on us.
'Larry the Pheasant' popped in to say hello!
We had a pheasant call in to say hello to us! He wanted to ask how are ye all getting on and to keep up all great work you are doing!
Larry wanted me to ask if you are interested in playing a quick game of spot the difference?.. You are? GREAT!
Can you spot the differences in the three pictures below?
Hint: Look at the background as well as Larry the Pheasant.
Larry is looking forward to seeing if you can find them all, best of luck!
Larry wanted me to ask if you are interested in playing a quick game of spot the difference?.. You are? GREAT!
Can you spot the differences in the three pictures below?
Hint: Look at the background as well as Larry the Pheasant.
Larry is looking forward to seeing if you can find them all, best of luck!
Our Principal Ms. O'Neill's farm is very busy with all the new arrivals!
Our principal has been kept very busy on her family farm tending to the cows and newborn calves.
I hope you're as excited as I am to join Ms. O'Neill as she kindly shows us some of her daily routines and jobs that need to be completed everyday on the farm. You are!! THAT'S GREAT!!! :)
Remember to watch the video carefully and take note of what you see and read. Below this video are some fun activities/questions you can ask the people at home with you. You can use the questions below to help you think of your own questions to conduct your own research about farming on Google.
I hope you're as excited as I am to join Ms. O'Neill as she kindly shows us some of her daily routines and jobs that need to be completed everyday on the farm. You are!! THAT'S GREAT!!! :)
Remember to watch the video carefully and take note of what you see and read. Below this video are some fun activities/questions you can ask the people at home with you. You can use the questions below to help you think of your own questions to conduct your own research about farming on Google.
Here are some fun activities to do after watching the video above.
Ask someone at home to help you and you can ask each other questions (like a mini pop quiz). Are you ready? Get set, GO!!
1. What was the colour of bedding used in the calving pens?
2. How many cows did you see in the video? Was it more or less than two?
3. How many calves were drinking at the feeding trough? Was it more or less than two?
4. What is the name of Ms. O'Neill's dog?
5. What is the name of the boy who is spreading the straw?
6. Who was helping Ned to spread the straw in the shed?
7. Why do they spread lime on the floor of the sheds under the straw bedding?
8. Do Ms. O'Neill's sheds look different to the sheds on my farm?
9. What colour coat was Ms. O'Neill wearing?
10. What colour coat was Farmer Ned wearing?
11. What was the name of the pet calf Ms. O'Neill was feeding with the bottle?
12. Emily was trying to wake one of the calves up from its nap because it was time to feed it. What type of food was Emily trying to feed it? Was it milk or water?
Ask someone at home to help you and you can ask each other questions (like a mini pop quiz). Are you ready? Get set, GO!!
1. What was the colour of bedding used in the calving pens?
2. How many cows did you see in the video? Was it more or less than two?
3. How many calves were drinking at the feeding trough? Was it more or less than two?
4. What is the name of Ms. O'Neill's dog?
5. What is the name of the boy who is spreading the straw?
6. Who was helping Ned to spread the straw in the shed?
7. Why do they spread lime on the floor of the sheds under the straw bedding?
8. Do Ms. O'Neill's sheds look different to the sheds on my farm?
9. What colour coat was Ms. O'Neill wearing?
10. What colour coat was Farmer Ned wearing?
11. What was the name of the pet calf Ms. O'Neill was feeding with the bottle?
12. Emily was trying to wake one of the calves up from its nap because it was time to feed it. What type of food was Emily trying to feed it? Was it milk or water?
Checking in with our calves and learning how to litter their beds.
We have had more arrivals on our farm, lets meet them! I have spoken before about why it is important to put fresh straw on the calves' bedding. Today I am going to show you how to spread the straw onto their bedding.
Here are some fun questions to ask your friends in school and with someone at home:
1. How many calves are in this video?
2. What colour is the stone on the wall of the building?
3. What colour is the timber of the roof of the building?
4. Is the straw the same colour as the calve's ear tag?
5. What is the name of the calf playing in the straw?
6. How did I spread the fresh straw onto the calves bedding?
Here are some fun questions to ask your friends in school and with someone at home:
1. How many calves are in this video?
2. What colour is the stone on the wall of the building?
3. What colour is the timber of the roof of the building?
4. Is the straw the same colour as the calve's ear tag?
5. What is the name of the calf playing in the straw?
6. How did I spread the fresh straw onto the calves bedding?
One of our heifers has given birth to a simmental bull calf.
One of our heifers has given birth to a Simmental bull calf. He is a cross of a Simmental bull with our British Friesian heifer. In the photographs below the calf is only a couple of hours old and is having his first drink of milk. The heifer (who is now a cow because she has given birth to a calf) has licked her calf clean. This has helped to build a bond with the cow and her calf as they become familiar with each other's scent.
It is important for the calf to get his first drink of milk in the first few hours of being born. The milk the cow produces when a calf is first born is called 'Bees Stings' and is full of nutrients to help build up the calf's immune system. It is thick and yellow in colour.
It is important for the calf to get his first drink of milk in the first few hours of being born. The milk the cow produces when a calf is first born is called 'Bees Stings' and is full of nutrients to help build up the calf's immune system. It is thick and yellow in colour.
Room 8 visited the animals on the farm as part of learning about 'Life on the Farm'
Some of the pupils called out to the farm o check in with one of our calves. They were delighted to see the animals on the farm eating and playing with each other. One of our calves popped out to say hello to us! This is the same calf that can be seen in the picture above us.
March
Room 8 called out to see the animals' progress since our last visit. All part of learning about life on the farm and farm safety.
The pupils in room 8 are a great help on the farm. They called out to the farm to check in with the animals to see how they are getting on. Be sure to click on the pictures to see them in full.
Rusty the dog and all of our animals were very excited to see all of his new friends from Room 8!
Here are some fun questions for you to ask the people at home with you:
1. How many calves are drinking from the milk feeder?
2. What colour is Rusty the dog?
3. What is the colour of Rusty's collar?
4. Which picture is your favourite and why?
1. How many calves are drinking from the milk feeder?
2. What colour is Rusty the dog?
3. What is the colour of Rusty's collar?
4. Which picture is your favourite and why?
Rusty enjoying a drink of milk with his friends
April
The pupils in Room 8 had a wonderful time playing with 'Larry' the bird.
A short video of everyone enjoying their time with Larry the bird
Farm safety signs
We are learning all about the different safety and warning signs used on a farm.
May
Exploring farm safety with farm machinery
We also discovered the different types of dangers that can be found on farm and why it is important to always be cautious when visiting a farm. We listened to the webinars hosted by Alma Jordan from Farm Safe Schools about farm safety with machinery. We decided to hold a mock driving test for our pupils where they had to demonstrate their learned knowledge of road safety and safety around machinery. They each received their own driving licence on their successful completion of the test. Well done everyone!
Electrical safety lesson from our guest Electrician Mr. Hogan
We had the wonderful opportunity to have Mr. Hogan visit our class to share his firsthand knowledge on electrical safety. The pupils were provided the opportunity to see the electrical testing equipment being used by Mr. Hogan and had the chance to snip a non-live electrical wire using a wire snips. They also worked together to build an electric circuit to light a bulb and power a fan.
FBD Farm Safety award winner!!
One of our pupils was placed in the top three in the FBD Farm Safe Schools Regional Champion for 'Demonstrating excellence in the pursuit of improving farm safety for all'. Farm safety signs, designing a farm yard (as seen in the background) and highlighting some of the danger areas, visiting a local farm and highlighting some farm safety tips when around animals and farm machinery were all considered as part of choosing the award winners. Such a great award for all the great work!
Accredited Farm Safe Superstar School!!
Our class worked very hard and successfully achieved a new status for our school. St. John's Special School is now an accredited Farm Safe Superstar School.
