Hello friends! It feels like a good day to start a blog! How else will I share with you so many lovely photos from our first ever Pigs & Kids event last Saturday? The photos below were taken by the incredibly talented Paulina M Photography, whom I am very lucky to have as a volunteer and co-leader for the events that we host.
This event. What can I say? It was amazing. This is what we squeezed into a half-day-camp style event:
- Safety discussion and expectations with the pigs and then getting to spend some time with the pigs. Socializing, offering them treats, giving them space, petting their backs.
- "Which pig" game, talking about how the pigs had different personalities, different likes and dislikes and behaviors, much like dogs in some ways!
- Hike in the woods with scavenger hunt - Chase, the leader, was amazing with the kids. In the Q & A afterwards, kids couldn't wait to answer his questions reviewing the things they saw & learned about on their hike.
- Snacks! Ants on a log are always a hit.
- Games. Regular day camp style games!
- Crafts! Trisha made bird feeders with one group and Jennifer made piggy headbands with the other!
- Cupcake decorating (and eating, of course!) Haley lead this fun and then taught about landfills, compost, recycling and reusing. Again, hands were shooting up with engaged kids wanting to answer questions and talk about the issue.
- An amazing meal that Tricia and Rosebud worked hard to put together. Smart dogs (vegetarian hot dogs), marinated carrots, roasted broccoli, and "mac & cheese" with a plant based cheese made from carrots, potatoes & cashews!
- Nutrition discussion about where valuable vitamins and minerals come from. (Plants!)
- More games, goody bags, cookies, prizes, lots of high fives, and saying goodbye to the pigs.
- Some kids said hello to the chickens, but Bosco, Ariella and Allie are so new to us that they didn't want to socialize much, so they mostly enjoyed peace in their coop, though we did tell their story to a few people.
I am wildly grateful for such a wonderful afternoon with such great people. The next Pigs & Kids is coming soon- June 8th. Tickets will be available very soon. We have to beat the mosquitos. It will be a shorter duration overall and smaller groups will visit with the piggies so that 1. the pigs don't become overwhelmed and 2. all kids who want one on one time with a piggy can have that opportunity, as long as the pigs are comfortable with it, too.
Our sponsors for this special event: