Bringing the farm to the classroom

The University of Maryland Extension program is bringing the farm to first graders in Worcester County.

This month the 4-H program will be visiting all the first graders in the county to help them learn about life on the farm.

Officials tell 47 ABC they’ll be setting up learning stations where students can play with goats, watch chicks hatch and even milk cows.

Those with the program said the reason they are working with first graders is because kids are very impressionable at that age and more apt to experimental learning.

“By bringing this program to the school, the kids get to have that excitement of learning you know, what’s involved in being around an animal and what’s involved in taking care of them. Anytime that kids are outside and get to have their hands on something and learning they get very excited,” said Jessie Flores, an agriculture educator with the program.

Although Worcester County is a rural area, those with the 4-H program said a lot of these children are actually three or four generations removed from the farm.

They add helping them understand how animals are raised will give them a better understanding of how food is produced and grown.