Visit from Lluvia

This morning, the children were treated to a special visit from our CSA farmers, Mark and Kena Guttridge of Ollin Farms, and their three week old lamb Lluvia (pronounced "Juvia," which translates to "rain" in Spanish).

Although lambs generally conjure images of bucolic farms with undulating grassy slopes and these cute, gentle creatures wandering freely from one verdant knoll to the next , Lluiva was born in the middle of January's arctic storms. She was bottle fed for several days by the Guttridges, until they were able to return her to her mother, which might account for her calm acceptance of her new found preschool celebrity icon status.

The children were very excited to meet Lluvia! They sat as calmly as their little bodies could muster as we discussed some of the general characteristics of mammals, learned what lambs and sheep eat, and the parts of a lamb. They were particularly interested in the fact that Lluvia had been bottle fed, that she drank milk, that wool comes from sheep, and that she had cloven hooves and a tail that wiggles and wags when she nurses.

At last, the eager children had the opportunity to pet her! For her part, Lluvia was the most gregarious and good natured lamb I have ever seen. She seemed relaxed and happy while the children took turns petting her and then entertained them with her antics as she tried to jump around the rug and bleated softly as the children sang Ba, Ba, Black Sheep to her.

When it was time for them to go, the anxious children inundated our guests with requests to come out and see the farm ("When the snow melts," they patiently replied to countless children). I was glad to see that the children were as excited about our partnership with the farm as we are! We were also really excited about the prospect of incubating some chicken eggs in the classroom this summer and then relocating them to the farm!

For the remainder of the day, the children spent the majority of their outdoor play time in the garden, taking turns pretending to be farmers and lambs!


We wish to sincerely thank Mark, Kena, Amber, and Coral Guttridge for their kindness and generosity. The children were very excited to meet Lluvia and very excited about coming to see them at their farm.

For more information about Ollin Farms, please visit their website at http://www.ollinfarms.com/