Baa Baa Black Sheep



Boden next to a "daddy" sheep

In order to get Boden in touch with how the food system works and learn about farming early on so he doesn't think our food originates at the grocery store, I've signed him up for a couple of pre-schooler and me classes at Gale Woods Farm.  This week's class was about sheep and we had a fantastic time.  Boden was very talkative and attentive and super-excited which was fun for me.  We learned about shearing sheep, that mommy sheeps are ewes, that black sheep also have black tongues (and black skin), that the wool from a shorn sheep weighs about 10 lbs (I think this is dependent on the breed of sheep), and (the most fun fact) that sheep don't have top teeth so when they eat out of your hands, it's really tickly :)  Boden wouldn't let the sheep eat out of his hand but he was more than happy to assist me.

Boden said a couple of really cute things that made me (+ some other parents chuckle):

• When Farmer Tim was getting us ready to sing Baa Baa Black Sheep, asking us all if we knew the song, Boden yelled out "I have it on my phone".  He has a Baa Baa Black Sheep app on his iPod Touch :)
• Farmer Tim was explaining to the group that the sheep had 4 stomachs and that while we were watching them, they were chewing on their cud.  He burped in an attempt to demonstrate how the sheep regurgitated their food after eating it so they could chew on it again.  Boden laughed hard and later on, when we were having our snack, Boden told Farmer Tim that the sheep didn't say "excuse me" after they burped. 

We had a great time--I might have enjoyed it equally as much as Boden did.  Baa for now!