Chores

I teach/live at a unique school. It is an Ag/Tech Charter school. But what does that mean? It means that every 8 weeks I have chores. This is my week.

I switched with my co-teacher, because she was supposed to have chores, but she is knee-deep into state math assessments and it is easier for me to get them done.

This is what has to be done every morning (including Saturday and Sunday) after school starts and before we get going with readin', writin', and 'rithmatic. With the students. Rain or shine. Cold or hot. We are livestock farmers who also teach elementary school. None of us grew up on a farm, but we are not afraid to do school differently.

Put on your chore boots, here we go.

Gather the chicken eggs. Feed and water the chickens.

No picture of the hen house or the eggs gathered. Yesterday the students gathered 6 eggs, today it was 8.

Feed the sheep corn, alfalfa, and give fresh water.

This is Lucy Belle. She was born at our school on Wednesday, February 15, 2012. Isn't she adorable? Her mom, Lily, and Aunt Wooly also live in this pen. (Sometimes we have to scoop poop.)

Brownie, our bottle calf who is off the bottle (that saves a lot of time) needs 8 cups of calf grain and 2 flakes of hay morning and afternoon (the afternoon feeding is done by our special K and 1 teachers).

Martha, our bucket calf whose birthday was in March, gets 3 1/2 pounds of grain, and a cartload of hay.

By the end of the week, I don't even have to pay close attention to the measuring and scooping because the kiddos are good at it. Real life measurement. Love it.

Chores are great for the students, but I am glad that we rotate and my week comes around every 8 weeks, because by the end of the week, I am kind of worn out.

We also got 2 piglets last week. They are not included in the chores, but they are cute.

As of this morning, our sheep are sharing their pen with Eyore (yes, this is how the owner spells it).

Eyore is a 3 year old donkey. He is very tame and fun to pet.

And Miss Murphy and I are sharing these.

There are 4 chicks. Miss Murphy says that we need to keep holding the chicks so they stay tame. We started that this afternoon. I also have 2 hermit crabs in my room, but they seem a bit dull after being outside with our big animals.

Stop over any time, but bring your chore boots, I may let you help me clean out the sheep pen.