This weekend, I went to Maine with the boys and my husband’s parents. It has pretty much become an annual trip for us, and we go the same weekend every year so that we can go to the Common Ground Fair, which takes place in the town of Unity. The Common Ground Fair is a unique and special event that is focused on sustainability and environmental awareness. There are many educational opportunities for adults, and also many fun things for children of all ages.
While we were at the fair, Dylan was able to try doing some new things. There was a “kids’ homestead” tent where kids could learn how to make bread. The people who had set up the activity had simplified the steps in such a way that it was just perfect for little hands. Dylan took a ball of dough from the bowl and rolled it in flour. Then, he went to a cutting board that was on a table at just the right height. He worked on it with a little rolling pin until it was as flat as he wanted it to be, and then we walked over to the griddle. A friendly woman placed his round of dough on the griddle and invited Dylan to take a jar off of the table and shake it. There was cream inside the jar, and the cumulative effect of all of those kids shaking the jar for a few minutes each was fresh butter. Once his bread came off of the griddle and cooled, Dylan was able to butter it and eat it. He also tried his hand at grinding wheat into flour, at a station that they had set up for that purpose. He absolutely loved that activity and visited it multiple times each day.
Other highlights of the fair included the nailing logs (just as the name implies, hammers, nails and logs), jumping into haystacks and piles of wood chips, chasing other kids around on the grass, and making macaroni necklaces and prayer flags. There were also many animals to see, and we visited the barns a few times each day. He was particularly fond of the alpacas, and sat beside their enclosure for a half hour or so just silently observing them. One pen that had sheep also had a feed dispenser, and Dylan had a blast feeding a very eager sheep that had placed herself right beside the dispenser. We even took a ride on a horse drawn wagon.
We had a great time at the fair, and our trip reminded me of how wonderful it is to see Dylan learning new things and discovering new interests. I hope to be able to replicate some of his favorite activities at home, like the bread baking and the macaroni necklaces. He does love animals, but we may have to start out with something a little more basic than an alpaca. As luck would have it, there is an alpaca farm up the street from us, so Dylan may be able to visit some alpaca soon.
Photo by manicmorff on morguefile.com.