February Vacation at Farrington!
by Susan Taylor, Farrington Trustee
Floating on snow? That’s what we did at Farrington/NatureLinc over February vacation with children from East Cambridge!
All eyes were wide and ears tuned to attention in the farmhouse meeting room as Program Director Brianne Studer explained to the children how they would experience the science of dispersing weight over a large surface area to create flotation – and some winter fun!
Snowshoes!
The below-freezing temperatures couldn’t chill the excitement for the kids and counselors who have been bound indoors by this winter’s record-breaking snowfall and bitter cold. After donning winter socks, hats, scarves and gloves, the children and adults strapped the snowshoes on their boots and shoes and tromped out across the fields where snow lay more than three feet deep.
And with squeals of delight, they floated on top!
“Winter programs are my favorites,” said Studer, “because it’s so novel for the kids from the city to be outdoors in the snow, and there’s so much they can learn.”
After a couple of rounds of “Red Light – Green Light” to get used to the snowshoes, the group trekked through the woods to a frozen pond. They imagined the small animals like mice and voles scurrying under their feet in tunnels beneath the snow, and they looked for footprint tracks of larger animals like deer and coyotes.
Back at the farmhouse with hot chocolate and marshmallows before an open fire, the kids had time for one more wish.
Sledding!
No explanation needed as the children ran to the top of the hill and piled on the bright colored sleds for the long slide down! Laughter filled the clear blue sky!
“This is amazing. We’ve never done anything like this before,” said one of the counselors. “We try to get take them places during winter vacation, but it’s usually a museum.”
“When can we come back? This is the greatest! I liked snowshoeing to the pond. I liked sledding. Can we do this again?” were the comments as the children gathered their belongings for the bus ride back to the city.
As the bus revved up, the windows dropped open. Children and counselors popped their heads out and waved their arms.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” they shouted.
Come back soon!