At last, the long-expected day has finally come in Nagyréde, that we have been organising with principal Erika Kelemen and the uyoung farmers: horticulturalists Orsolya and Borbála Benedek, winemaker Tamás Gácsi, and animal breeder Zsuzsanna Szabó for a long time for my class, the 2nd grade of Saint Imre Primary School.
The young farmers arrived at half past 8, and at 8, the workers of the television too. The children were very excited and enthusiastic. The events of the day started at the classroom, where kids were busy in groups. They were sorting cards with words and pictures. The were searching and sticking up peculiarities of swine, chickens, cattle and storks. After this, they were working at the digital table, where they had to recognise the voice of domestic animals, followed by recognising pictures of fruits.
Then came a brief break, when the young farmers were guided through their ex-school and introduced them to the teachers. Of course, there were some who had taught them
During the break, the children could taste the apple juice brought by the Benedek sisters.
After the break, Tamás Gácsi introduced himself, who had also been a student of the school. He talked about his job, his everyday tasks, grapes and cultivating them.
The Benedek sisters also introduced themselves, they showed posters with the fruits grown by them.
This was followed by a game. Everyone had to pull an object from a covered basket and tell whether it has a connection with grapes or other fruits. If they were unable to name the object, the young farmers helped. During the game, many interesting things were mentioned that broadened the knowledge of the children. By the end of the game, two groups were formed (grape, wild strawberry). They got cards to write their name and team on. They weared the around their neck proudly all day.
We departed with two buses to the farm of Tamás Gácsi at 10 p.m. There, we looked at the difference between cut and uncut vines. Here, many-many interesting things were mentioned. They collected tendrils and asked Tamás a lot of questions. We also watched how cut vines are shredded and recycled to the soil to provide nutrition.
After that, we proceeded with the buses to the Benedek Fruit Farm, where we were astonished seeing the scores of sour cherry trees. Utilising our knowledge of the multiplying table, our 2nd graders instantly tried to calculate the number of trees ahead of us. They even had close contact with the trees, since every one of them wanted to climb a tree. We looked at the wild strawberries, the raspberries, ribes and gooseberries. The amount was astonishing again. The children gained many interesting and new information. They already surely know what the difference is between a wild strawberry and a raspberry.
And the awaited programme was only after this, although they already enjoyed every little moment. We departed for Hollókő. There, we were awaited by young farmer Zsuzsa Szabó, among beautiful surroundings in the Old Village. After eating our lunch, we went to the Community house, where we saw a short projected presentation about cattle. The children knew the answer to many questions, and had a lot of these to the young farmer. After that, we went to the farm. Again, our bus stopped in a beautiful place. We changed to rubber boots and working shoes, and a bit later, after crossing a small creek and scaling a big mountain, a beautiful valley revealed itself. Down at the valley, we saw many-many cows, furthermore, the kind that many had seen only at the presentation first in their lives. It was a really great experience when the newly born calf was so surprised by the pack of children that it came out of the corral to the children. Zsuzsa's husband, Attila was so patient and persistent to escort all children in there one by one. There, it was a really unique experience to fondle the unborn calf in the belly of its mother.
The all-day barrage of knowledge was closed at Hollókő's brand new playground, the adventure park. There, they were able to let loose and play.
In my opinion, this is a really great programme. Agriculture can only be brought closer to the children this way, with programmes like this. And we know from experince that Tellus material can be applied in even the 2nd grade.
Many thanks to AGRYA for the realisation of the programme and sincere, deep thanks to the young farmers helping us, who conducted this unforgettable day with taking their task seriously, taking the kids' interest into regard.
With this trip, their interest can be stirred about agriculture. And the practical way of getting knowledge seasoned with good experiences is much more enduring than learning from books.
Gabriella Rédei, Teacher
St Imre Primary School, Nagyréde
