That's Why We have Kids...

No, this isn't going to be some soupy post about how great motherhood is, but motherhood is my everything. This is about getting to experience something new to me by joining my child on her preschool field trip.


St. Mary's County, Maryland has a large Amish community. We regularly pass horse and buggies on the main roads when we are driving west. I always am so thrilled to witness such a different culture right in my own county. So, when Elli's preschool asked for chaperones to the Amish Farm, you best believe I was first to volunteer.

The first part of our farm tour included the kids getting to each throw a fist full of chicken feed into the pen.

 This inspired Elli to start dancing like a chicken!

Next stop, the barn. There were cows, calves, goats and HUGE work horses. While the kids  observed the farm animals, I couldn't help but watch the beautiful Amish children as they shadow their daddy. I heard (but can't be held to) that often Amish children don't learn English until about 6 years old. 

 I don't know what kind of horse this is but it is easily the largest horse I have ever seen. The cows next to it were half its size. I would say its hind legs alone were six feet tall.

Next stop, horse drawn hay ride. Elli was one of the first to hop on and was very eager. I love that her hair and the horse tail and indistinguishable. 

 I stayed behind with a child that was too nervous to ride, so I witnessed the horses getting stuck in the mud from afar. All adults had to get off to lighten the load and they gave the horses a little extra push from behind.

There was pumpkin selection and snack, which inherently lead to Elli needing to use the restroom. Yes, this Amish farm has no electricity and running water. Yes, Elli got to use the outhouse. She wanted to know where her pee pee disappeared to. I was surprised how much nicer the out house was than a port-a-potty. 

 As we were wrapping things up, the Amish mother and her three children were off to run errands. I had to snap these next two pictures (even though I probably shouldn't have). The young (most likely one year old) girl was in a five point harness carseat installed into the carriage.

 But then the older two kids (likely 4 and 6) were free to move around in the back.

I could have stayed all day on the farm, observing and learning. I love having kids so that I can keep learning with them.