DAY VISIT

A day visit to Tokes Educational Centre is a great way to get to know the farm and its daily activities. The day can be tailored to your specific needs, be it ‘A day at the Farm’, focusing on farming activities or a day driven by a specific curriculum topic.

A typical programme for ‘A day at the Farm’ involves feeding the animals, milking the goats, working in the market or kitchen garden, helping to prepare lunch, heading into the woods, or joining in with seasonal jobs around the farm, such as harvesting hazel, planting hedges or chopping wood.

A typical programme for a curriculum topic-led day starts with a short tour around the farm followed by the chosen learning content delivered in 45-minute slots.

Programme and lesson plans can be created by Tokes Farm staff or a combination of Tokes Farm staff and the class teacher.

Typical examples of previous days include:

• A day with Year 3 who learnt about Roman numerals by making large sundials enabling them to tell the time using both.

• A day with Year 6 saw them exploring area and perimeter through a series of tasks and challenges based in different fields around the farm.

• A morning with Year 4 was spent in the woods to awaken the children’s senses, as well as to deepen their skills in descriptive writing and story work. They spent the afternoon telling stories out loud.

• Year 1 - 6 as well as secondary school groups who came for a day at the farm enriched their scientific knowledge by identifying plants and animals, discovering the life cycles of these plants and animals, delving into different habitats and observing simple food chains as well as all important water cycles.

Example Timings of a day visit

(Timings will vary due to schools individual timetables)

9.30am - 10am: Arrival and Welcome

9.50am - 10am: Health and Safety talk

10am – 11am: teaching session 1in the amphitheatre

11am – 11.30am: Snack and play

11.30am - 12.15pm: Teaching session 2

12.15pm - 1pm: Teaching session 3

1pm – 1.30pm: Lunch and play

1.30pm – 2.15pm: Teaching session 4

2.15pm - 2.30pm: End of day session in the amphitheatre

2.30pm - 3pm: Goodbye