Neighbor News
Soule: When Calves and Campers Learn Together
What happens when children join forces with calves? It's adorable and magical when kids and calves join forces.
Summer is sneaking up, and it’s time to plan what your kids will do when school lets out. Let me tell you about a fun farm camp that enchanted boys and girls last year.
On the first day of the Miles Smith Farm 2022 summer day camp, 19 kids aged 8 to 14 descended on the farm. Most of them didn’t know a lead rope from a clothesline. My job was to teach these young want-a-be-wranglers how to handle reluctant 150-pound calves who wanted only to return to their moms.
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Camper training started with demonstrating how to sit on the lead rope. I showed the campers how to bend at the knees, hold the lead line with their left hand, and put the lead under their butts with the other end in their right hand and sit on it. When done correctly, rope-sitting gives humans a superpower. I know. I’ve used it to control 800-pound cows.
Our camp is a function of Learning Networks Foundation, which is the nonprofit aspect of Miles Smith Farm. And there’s plenty of learning at both ends of the lead rope.
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This year we’ve scheduled four weeks of camp from July 10 to Aug. 4, 2023. The day camp is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday to Friday.
Don’t let your child or a child you know miss out. Registration is open, but space will fill quickly, and scholarships are available for those needing them. Enroll at: https://www.learningnetworksfo...
Carole Soule is co-owner of Miles Smith Farm in Loudon where she raises and sells beef, pork, eggs and other local products. She can be reached at carolesoule60@gmail.com.
