Andy Woods Elementary students experience farm day on campus – Tyler Morning Telegraph

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Updated: October 1, 2022 @ 11:57 pm
Eleanor Caldwell, 4, uses corn grinding machine during campus farm day at Andy Woods Elementary on Friday. 
Prekindergarten Andy Woods Elementary students react to animal lessons during campus farm day on Friday. 
Prekindergarten Andy Woods Elementary students pet a chicken during campus farm day on Friday. 
Prekindergarten Andy Woods Elementary student rides a horse during campus farm day on Friday. 
Prekindergarten Andy Woods Elementary students pet a chicken during campus farm day on Friday. 

Video Editor / Bilingual Multimedia Journalist
Eleanor Caldwell, 4, uses corn grinding machine during campus farm day at Andy Woods Elementary on Friday. 
Prekindergarten Andy Woods Elementary students react to animal lessons during campus farm day on Friday. 
Prekindergarten Andy Woods Elementary students pet a chicken during campus farm day on Friday. 
Prekindergarten Andy Woods Elementary student rides a horse during campus farm day on Friday. 
Prekindergarten Andy Woods Elementary students pet a chicken during campus farm day on Friday. 
Farm animals filled the outside lawn of Andy Woods Elementary School on Friday as students screamed with excitement as they got to pet and ride the animals while learning about the farm lifestyle.
The yearly event began a few years ago but started much smaller and has since developed to something bigger, said Jana Slaughter, pre-K teacher at Andy Woods Elementary.
“We started with a tractor and some corn the first year when I started and it was just my class. Then last year was the first year we had live animals and we included all of pre-K. This is the biggest it’s been, we’ve gained animals every year,” she said. “I started working at Andy Woods in 2018 and I just saw the need for kids to have meaningful hands-on experiences, so I reached out to people in the community and here we are today with lots and lots of animals from different places.”
Throughout the farm event, students rotated through different sections and participated in activities such as horseback riding, using a corn grinding machine, getting on top of a tractor, feeding rabbits and cows, wool weaving, and even witnessed a cow getting milked.
Parents were also invited for the experience.
Joseph Juarez, dad of pre-K student at Andy Woods, was in attendance and grateful to witness her daughter experience the event, he said.
“Any time I get the chance to get in an activity with Maddy and the school, I’m all for it. I was really excited they were going to have animals because she loves animals. I wanted to see her be around them,” he said.
Juarez said it was awesome to see the students be able to touch them and pet the animals.
Slaughter also conducts the yearly event with the hope it helps students with developing language skills and putting into place everything they learn in the classroom.
“Just having the experience will stick with them and they’ll remember the vocabulary and the things that they see and touch today from what we’ve learned,” she said.
She also said that she hopes it inspires students to get inspired to help out in the community with farming and agriculture.
Video Editor / Bilingual Multimedia Journalist
Photographer and video editor but I also cover community outreach, bilingual content, events and education. Stephen F. Austin State University Alumna. Houstonian reporting in East Texas since January 2021. Story ideas? email me at [email protected]
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