I received a phone call from Char Heer from Midwest Dairy Association asking if our farm could do a dairy presentation at the ND Farm Bureau Kids Rodeo Round-up. I quickly agreed and we got a plan together of what we were going to talk about, what activities to bring, and that we should do a fun "surprise" at the end because we all know, kids have a really hard time sitting still for 1-2 hours, but I mean who doesn't?!? So I got started printing off coloring sheets, putting handouts together, and then I went grocery shopping for our big surprise!
On Saturday we got there, unloaded our supplies, and jumped right into our presentation on all aspects of dairy: where your milk comes from, what we feed our cows, how milk is processed, and everything that goes into being a dairy farmer. One amazing thing about technology is that we have our camera security system synced on our phones so the kids were actually able to see our dairy farm and our milking in real time! It was quite cool to be able to bring the farm with us because sometimes it is really hard for people to wrap their mind around what we are trying to say and describe. Example: Our cows get milked on a merry-go-round, how does that work? Well, let me just show you jump on your phone, press a few buttons and boom, there is our actual facility and milking going on right now! The kids loved it!
Now to the big finale "surprise"! I went on YouTube a few days before and stumbled on a way to make 'Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag'! I have never tried it before so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to give a whirl. So the adults and helpers got busy measuring the ingredients together in the bags and then handed them off to the kids to shake for 5 minutes! Boy, did those bags get cold! After 5 minutes, there is a Zip-lock bag full of delicious goodness ready to eat! We also brought a huge smorgasbord of toppings from chocolate syrup to whipped cream, and, of course, to finish any perfect sundae- cherries to put on top! Most of the kids ate their ice cream up in a few gobbles, some had ice cream and chocolate smeared all over their faces, and some even had it in their hair (oh, wait, those were MY KIDS!). But all together, I think the kids had a great time, we had a great time, and I know the coordinators appreciated that we were able to be there. But I do have to say, I really don't think the person who has to clean-up the room really appreciated us being there. Oh well, most of the time when you are having lots of fun, a mess just happens...and usually the messier, the better!!!
