My students are English Language Learners from Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti, Angola, and South Africa. Most are refugees or asylum seekers whose families left their homes with dreams of safety, freedom, and education for their children. All of them came to America with little to no English, eager to learn.Most now live among many family members well below the poverty line in small apartments.
My students have few opportunities to experience nature beyond their crowded, city neighborhoods and our school's playground.
The children love to look at books about animals that they saw from afar in the African fields. They also tell stories about their grandparents' farms.
My Project
A trip to Sunflower Farm in Cumberland, Maine, will be a dream opportunity for students to reminisce about their grandparents' farms and experience the indescribable joy of holding a baby goat.
I want my ELL students to meet and cuddle baby goats, to run carefree in the fields full of wildflowers, and to enjoy a day together in nature.
Last year, I took 10 students; this year, I hope to take 24 students in grades 1-6 -- to spend a morning at the farm. Students will light up with happiness when they gently hold baby goats, learn about life on the farm, learn the processes of milking goats and making goat cheese. My ELL students would also run and play with the goats among the wildflowers, enjoy a picnic lunch in the field, and appreciate nature. This thirty minute drive to the countryside will be a fun, springtime field trip that will become a cherished memory for all.
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