Stone Farm - September 2011
Day 1
“I miss my family but this is amazing. I can’t wait to get up at 7:30 and look after the animals. This is great, I’m going to enjoy the next few days.” Rachel, B6
“When we got to stone Farm there was a big cheer... I held a guinea pig and it was sooo sweet! ... When we had tea, I was so full I felt like a balloon ... When we were going inside the sound of rustling wind, bleating sheep and rippling river made me relax.” Leyahn, B6
“The baby guinea-pigs were really cute and Daisy-Mae the donkey, the piglets, the alpacas, goats, rabbits, Diesel the dog and the rest were really cute. Farm jobs were really fun when I walked the goat with a lead.” Ruby, B6
“Stone Farm was amazing today! I finally held a guinea pig since 2004 when my pet guinea pig died. We all saw loads of animals ... Diesel the dog! He was cool!” Matthew, B6
“I liked the first day. I like thunder because he’s really fun ... I held a baby guinea pig. We won 10-5 at football. Today was a FAB start to Stone Farm.” Toby, B6
“Like the room, got a sink, guinea pigs (so cute), baby one (soooo cute), pig (smells, but my favourite animal), food (lush, give me more), tired (yawn), bed now.” Amie, B6
“I was a server at dinner. I had sausage and chips and for dessert I had chocolate ice cream, 2 wafers, chocolate sauce, strawberry sauce and toffee sauce. Really looking forward to the big walk tomorrow on Dartmoor.” Matthew, C6
“I love it here! It is absolutely amazing and the animals are sooo cute! ... A long walk across Dartmoor awaits us...” Jasmine, C6
“I’m loving it so far. I’m really tired now.” Shayleen, C6
“When we arrived Diesel the sheepdog greeted us from the coach. I’m usually scared of dogs, but not Diesel.” Georgia, C6
“It’s awesome! Diesel the sheep dog is really cool but Thunder is my favourite. He’s a miniature pony and is really calm. He just sits there and eats grass and loves being groomed and stroked.” Scott, C6
We have a growing band of followers on Twitter too. You can join us by following @longwellgreen for more updates.
Day 2
Day 2 at Stone Farm has been a day of discovery on Dartmoor. Our two guides, Mike and Phil, taught us many different things about the history of the region. They also told us some things which may not really be true. Year 6 had to think about what was fact and what sounded like fiction. They have written down some ‘facts’ they have remembered from the day. Which do you think are true, and which do you think we decided were fiction?
- Man-made streams on the moor are called leats.
- Clapper bridges get their name because if you clap when you cross them it brings you good luck.
- A kist is where people from thousands of years ago were buried.
- Tin and copper were mined on Dartmoor.
- A witch called Vexana lived on the moor centuries ago and trapped travellers in the mist.
- Bronze age people used pith from a plant on the moor to make oil lamps.
- AT stones were used to show the way across Dartmoor.
- Energy lines can be detected on the moor using a metal rod.
- Water in a leat can flow uphill.
- Spagnum moss was used by soldiers to treat wounds.
The children enjoyed another very busy day. Here are some brief quotes from their diaries to show how they felt about the day:
“Today is my birthday!” Sophie, B6 “I had a great birthday!” Matthew, B6
“Today was great. I feel awesome.” Kathryn, B6
“I had lemon cake for dessert, it was yummy.” Jade, B6
“I felt excited all day because there was more stuff to learn about.” Mike, B6
“I loved it” Daniel, B6
“Today was the best day so far but tomorrow is going to be the best because of the EDEN PROJECT!” Harry, B6
“It was cool squelching in the mud.” Emily, B6.
“Today was a good day. We went to Dartmoor and it was fun.” Josh, C6
“We stopped to hear a story from Phil. It was about a witch who ate people’s fingers.” George, C6
“Today we went for our walk on Dartmoor. It was great.” Joe, C6
“We got ready for Dartmoor. I was a bit nervous but then when we got there I was OK.” Harry, C6
“We had spare time. I learned how to pick up a rabbit.” Rachel, C6
“I am frightened of guinea pigs and Khadisha helped me face my fear.” Fayme, C6
Day 3
Year 6 have written some final thoughts on their trip. They have picked out what, for them, were the ‘Highlights of Stone Farm’. Here are some quotes from the third and last day in their diaries:
“This week at Stone Farm was absolutely amazing. I really like doing my farm jobs and looking after the guinea pigs. I like Stone Farm. It was a good experience for me.” Luke, B6
“My highlight was the Eden Project. I will never forget it. It was huge and our ideas might be on the TV.” Charlie K, B6
“Today we woke up to really nice food and fun farm jobs. We went to the amazing Eden Project. It was fun, we went through exotic rainforest.” Myles, B6
“Today we went to the Eden Project. The best bit was the sensitive plant. Its leaves look like fern leaves, they close like a Mexican wave.” Jake, B6
“My favourite thing was feeding the animals and going to the Eden project and serving people [at breakfast] because I was being nice to people.” Daniel, B6
“I think the best thing I did was make better friends with Emily and not being as scared of animals anymore. Yay!” Kayce-Mai, B6
“This evening we had a barn dance. I couldn’t breathe it was so funny.” Carys, B6
“My other highlight was the bog when it just went squidge squidge (gross but awesome!)” Lottie, B6
“A very fun highlight was roasting marshmallows on an open fire.” Parice, B6
“The highlights for Stone Farm were going to the Eden Project. It was so hot inside the rainforest dome I was practically melting.” Sophie, B6.
“The plants were really interesting and I saw a lot of things that I wouldn’t see in Bristol.” Yasmin, C6
“We saw exotic fruits, wild bushes and loads of trees. Next we went outside and I saw my auntie!” Will, C6
“It was scary walking across the bridge but in the dome it was fun.” Molly, C6
“Today it was my birthday, I was 11. I did scooping poop.” Khadisha, C6 [Khadisha chose the job of mucking out the pigs this morning. She did it with a beaming smile! – Ed]
“This morning I met the owl. We had to talk to it which I liked, it was cool.” Abbie, C6
“Some of us were really lucky to see a green, brown-eyed lizard.” Eve, C6
“The domes were really cool and they looked a bit like bubbles.” Tom, C6
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