Alphabet Adventure: C is for Cow

As you can imagine, we'd hoped to do "C is for Camping," but the rain put an end to that plan. So we needed to change plans and go with another great "C' adventure: C is for Cow.

As we live in a rural area we know many people with cows and farms, but decided to make this adventure a little more official by traveling to  nearby Billings Farm & Museum. We've never visited as a family and had thought this would be a great place to go at some point this summer. After we planned the adventure, we were surprised with some complimentary tickets from a friend. Perfect timing.

The Adventure

We packed a picnic lunch, braved the gray clouds, and headed to the farm. Big Brother was excited as we pulled in because he could hear the cows as we arrived. Some were in the barns and some were in the pasture.

Ironically, once we were in the barn he didn't want to get to close to them. He even passed up the opportunity to try brushing one during a small talk on jersey cows. He felt a little better about being near them when we visited the cows in the pasture. 

A cow says "MOOO!"

Little Brother was more willing to get closer to the cows. 

We enjoyed other elements of our farm visit too, including the other animals: chickens, sheep, and draft horses. We also explored the stenciling craft project and the antique farm equipment and home life exhibits. Big Brother particularly enjoyed exploring the ice house. 

Along the way we found some more "C' words: chicken, cider, cheese, cookies and croissant ( both in our lunch.) Once we were back home we wrapped up the adventure with a great cow story, The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson.

The Project

The next day we created our "C" project: C is for crayon. 

We decided to take advantage of the sunny, warm weather and try a little experiment. Using our old, unwrapped crayons and a vegetable peeler we peeled curls off the crayons and left them in the sun on white card stock. 

We left them for a while, until they were warm and gooey. Then we placed another piece of white paper on top and pressed. I was hoping they would melt and press a little more than they did, leaving a melted look. Instead they kind of just mashed onto the paper. But Big Brother was pleased with the big chunks of crayon now stuck to his paper. 

Another great alphabet adventure and project! 

Other C adventure ideas: camping (of course), canoeing, cupcake store, candle factory, and a carousel ride.