810-Lancwor Farming, Saturday, May 16, 1992
Schooltime Fun For
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
NEWTOWN SQUARE (Dela
ware Co.) The students in Mrs.
Linda Muhoney’s and Mrs. Ellen
Alexander’s Scenic Hills second
grade class got a “mouth-opening
experience” last week.
That’s when they took a field
trip to the Garrett Williamson
Farm on Bishop Hollow Road as
part of their food production class.
They looked inside a ram lamb’s
mouth and tried to guess exactly
how old the animal was.
“What’s happening to your
teeth?’’ asked Delaware Extension
Director and County 4-H Agent
C.R. “Bud” Bryan to the group of
about 10 second-graders.
Some just stopped petting the
lamb for a second, smiled, and
raised their hands. One girl
answered, “They fall out.”
Bryan asked her, “And what do
you call the teeth that you had to
begin with?”
der’s second grade class.
“Man, she’s cute,” says a Scenic Hills second grade student while he pets isey,”
a 2-year-old Ayrshire at the Williamson Farm. James Short, 4-H program aide, looks
on.
“Baby teeth,” said a boy,
laughing.
“And what do you call the teeth
that you get?”
Together, many of the students
said, “Permanent teeth!”
Bryan told them that, yes, sheep
also lose their baby teeth, much
like humans. Their mouth grows
and adult teeth replace the starter
teeth.
Bryan asked them to guess the
age of the sheep by the teeth it has.
Two teeth are lost per year, over a
total of about four years. “If you
look in the sheep’s mouth and it
had six adult teeth and two left on
the ends, how old would the sheep
be?”
One girl spoke up quickly, and
said, ‘ ‘Eight! ’’But that’s not right,
according to Bryan. The 4-H agent
asked them to do a little adding on
their own if it had six adult
teeth, that’s three times two, which
makes six.
“Three,” said a boy.
Second Graders On Farm Tour
... —igent, and Leslie Ruzowlcz, 4-H staffer, show second graders what
to look at to determine the age of sheep. Photos by Andy Andrews
‘‘ That ’ s correct .” said Bryan, to learn how food placed, market lambs. But taking care of
smiling variety of different foods, relation- many of the animals will be shared
Jim Short, 4-H aide, aid Leslie shi of agriculture pe rson , by a great deal of the more than
Ruzowicz, part-time 4-H staffer. an( f to healthy 5.000 active 4-H members,
were on hand to offer the us i ng aii four food groups. In addition, the bam is undergo
demonstraUons. Groups tour the facility ing some changes so 4-H members
. Lmda Muhoney.second grade weet fo efan n housed an Ayrshire can practice showing farm
teacher at Scenic Hills (part of the heifer( two Angus (a ammals.
Springfield, Delaware County he ifer). ore Yorkshire Teachers interested in signing
school system), said the field tnp crQ J SQW with a liue various U p for the food education program
was part of the culminating expen- sh and pQultry can contact Bryan at the Delware
ence for foe students. During the summer, 40 kids will County Extension Office. 1521
The children also visited other !8 pigs and !0 or more North Providence Road. Media,
exhibits on the 240-acre form. PA 19063, (215) 565-9070.
including the embryology project
(housed in the old maternity sec
tion of the former dairy bam).
A lot like the Ag In die Class
room Project, the 4-H Food Pro
duction Education Program, run
by the extension, provides an
opportunity for the students to
leam the fundamentals of animal
agriculture. Through the 4-H
office, local schools can sign up
with the program and tour the farm
during April, May. or June.
The program is aimed at grades
two and hi her. It allows students
‘play