We’ve got an exciting CONTEST FOR KIDS this Spring!  A POETRY CONEST!

We invite children up to the 5th grade to participate in our farm spring Poetry Contest.  We ask that children write an original poem on the topic of Easter.  The poem should be no more than 10 lines.  Poems must be submitted online by a parent.

Submit a poem now on Kackleberry Farm Facebook Wall, with the child’s first name listed as Author.

Poem entries must be submitted by 3:00pm on Tuesday, March 27, 2012.

Contest Dates: Poems written by children up to 5th grade are eligible.  Poems must be submitted by a parent, by posting on Kackleberry Farm’s Facebook Wall.  Deadline for submitting poems is 3:00pm EST on Tuesday, March 27, 2012.

Selection: Poems are judged based on originality, creativity,  and if on-topic.  

Prizes:  1st Place and two runners up will be awarded.

Fees: There are no entry fees for any of the contests.  No purchase necessary. 

Copyrights: The author retains all copyrights to the submitted poem.  By submitting the poem, you grant permission to Kackleberry Farm to share your poem online – on our website, Facebook etc.

Notification:  Winners will be announced March 28, 2012.  Names of the winners and their respective poems may appear on this website.

Legalities: No purchase necessary.  Void where prohibited.  Sponsored by The America Library of Poetry. All rights reserved. 

We’ve got some really neat ways for your kids to ‘Grow Green’ (which could be apart of go-ing green!). As St. Patrick’s Day approaches, here’s a fun craft the family can take part in — growing Shamrock Sprouts.

How to grow Shamrock Sprouts:

Materials Needed:

small sponge for each resident

shamrock pattern

grass seeds

black sharpie marker

bowl

water

scissors

Instructions:

1. Use the marker to trace the pattern onto the sponge.

2.Cut out the shamrock shape.

3.Soak the sponge in a bowl of water.

4.Sprinkle grass seed heavily onto the sponge.

5.Place your shamrock in a bright,sunny spot,check daily and keep the sponge damp with water.

6.Look for sprouts in about 1 week.

This is a great exercise to teach children responsibility — they need to care for their sprouts by watering, making sure they get ample sunlight etc.  Just in case they fall down on the job, at least its not the family pet that will go thirsty!!  ;-)  lol

This activity can be fun for all ages!  A special thanks to Housing A Forest, who has completed this St. Patrick’s Day craft already and shared these helpful photos.

Kiss Me, I’m Irish Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup Irish cream liqueur (like Bailey’s)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

24 Hershey’s® Kisses® Brand milk chocolates, unwrapped

INSTRUCTIONS:

STEP 1:  Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

STEP 2:  In medium bowl, beat butter and sugars with electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, beating until combined. Add liqueur, beating until well combined.

STEP 3:  In another medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Add to butter mixture, beating on low speed until dough forms.

STEP 4:  Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place on the prepared baking sheets. Press a kiss into each cookie ball, letting the dough form up around the kiss. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool on the cookie sheets for a few minutes; remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Now, go find the lucky one and demand a kiss before you give away your sweet cookie kisses!!

Source:  We found this fun St. Patrick’s Day recipe at BettyCrocker.com.  

PHOTO CAPTION FUN on Facebook

We’ve been playing a little Photo Caption Fun on Facebook – JOIN US!  It’s fun and easy!  Just comment on our random pictures on the wall, and those who comment within the first 24 hours will be entered into a random drawing for exciting farm prizes!!  Winners will be announced here in the farm blog.

The first winner is …

Rachelle Hammond Rivers, thanks for playing Photo Caption with us!!  You have won 2 tickets to Easter EGGstravaganza Event coming up on March 31st.

For information on the Easter event, click here.

You could be next …

Winners, If your name is listed above, click here to email us — make sure to tell us your full name and that you were a winner of Facebook Photo Caption, so we can award you your prize!

If your kiddo’s love technology and video games … this is a fun, educational way we have come up with to MIX tech with agriculture!!

We’re excited to announce our new GeoCaching Field Trip Adventure at Kackleberry Farm, located on the outskirts of Augusta, in Louisville, Ga, beginning this Spring 2012!  This is a fun way to navigate around the farm with hand-held GPS, and will be the guide showing different learning stations on the farm, which is great for older students.  Students will get involved and experience the farm like never before, and not realizing that it’s learning! :)

Field Trips are NOW BOOKING for the 2012 Spring season!

Teachers, you will need to do the following:

1. Make a reservation online or call 706-830-4968. Don’t wait too long as space will be limited!
2. Collect $6 for each student, parent, or sibling who will be on the trip.
3. Have check or purchase order ready and be sure to check in at your reserved time (please ask us about travel times when you make your reservation)

Children love to explore –

Guided exploring is what makes our new Farm Kamp so much fun for kids!  Our new approach to a hands-on learning experience about agriculture, allows children to take responsibility for farm chores, all while exploring the outdoors.  It’s a new and exciting way to learn about animals, where we get the food we eat and other contributors in our environment.  Each field trip will be like a summer camp adventure, with different activities each day of the week.

This is not lecture time — we’ll get our hands dirty!

Our NEW additions to our farm education this year include something for all ages.  Farm Kamp and Growing Submarines for the youngest, and Go Geocaching for older students which puts a fun new twist into exploring the farm.

To learn more about these learning opportunities and to make reservations, click here.  Load up the bus and come to the country to see us this spring at Kackleberry Farm!

Our little Lily thought this craft was the cutest – especially because it shared her name!

Lollipop Lily

 This is a cute, yummy and easy Valentine craft your kids can make!
These Valentines can be customized and decorated by your kids and make for a fun, personal gift.

Click here for the Printable Lily cut outs template to print your own!

Source:  A special thanks to SkiptomyLou.com blog for sharing this idea and template!

Christmas in the Country at Kackleberry Farm is
November 25 – December 18, 2011
Saturdays  12:00 – 9:00pm
Sundays 2:00 – 8:00pm 

We have pre-cut Fraser Fir trees, fresh greenery and all the trimmings for you this season.  We welcome you to bring the whole family and stay awhile to enjoy all the winter activities here on the farm…

Snow Sledding
Laser Tag in the corn field
Kiddie Zip Line
Camp fires
Caroling Hay Ride
60 ft. Snow Slide and play area
Laser Light Show

 Then after you and the kids have a blast, you can head home for all the fun decorating your REALChristmas tree!  Build a fire, make some hot cocoa, put on some Christmas tunes and enjoy a wonderful time with the family decorating your tree.

For more on Christmas in the Country, read on…

The fun never stops here at Kackleberry Farm!  We took a short break to clean up all the fall fun, and we are ready for the Christmas festivities!

The day after Thanksgiving, Friday, November 25th will kick off our very first Christmas season that we are open to the public.  On ‘Black Friday’ we will be open 1:00 – 9:00pm.  We will have freshly-cut *Fraser Fir Christmas trees from a fellow farm in North Carolina.  We hope you will bring the family down spend the day with us – choose the ‘perfect’ Christmas tree right here, and then there’s all the fun, family-friendly activities we have for you to enjoy!

Our Christmas hours are
November 25 – December 18, 2011
Saturdays  12:00 – 9:00pm
Sundays 2:00 – 8:00pm 

Visit and take pictures with Santa and the Elves.  Sing carols around the farm on a Christmas Hayride and enjoy much more at Kackleberry Farm!

For admission and details, click here.