Apple picking and cause and effect

Yesterday Hannah's preschool class went on their first field trip. This will be a regular occurrence -- the teacher's goal is one a month. For the first one the kids went old school -- to a farm for apple picking (and cider making). Very appropriate as we now live in the apple state (and are about 1 hour from the start of the apple kingdom -- otherwise known as the Wenatchee Valley, the followed by the Yakima Valley). I got to tag along on the field trip, which was great fun -- really, 3 year olds don't describe their day very well so if you want to know what happened, go with them!

First the farmer (who runs our area's only real fruit stand) talked to the kids about apple trees, how the grow, how you take care of them, etc. I learned, I think Hannah played with grass. Then the kids got to pick apples. Took Hannah three tries -- first one dropped on the ground (a no-no), second one had a big worm hole, which upset her (and which she just learned about), third one was a beaut!

Then to the apple cider making! So, apple cider is basically ground up apple pulp that is then squeezed all the juice out of. That simple. Saw it happen.

Here are the apples going up the conveyor belt into the grinder

Hannah thought the grinder was loud

So did most of the other kids

So, the red flat thing on the table (with white flat things under it) is the presser and the white things all have sheets of apple pulp which the red thing pressed all the juice out of. Table, with it's high sides, collects the juice and sends it down into the bucket beneath. Hannah learns that if you are cute, and drink your juice fast enough, elderly men will give you more. Abby, meanwhile, also had a valuable lesson yesterday: cause and effect. She has been pulling herself upright on everything (including the wall, which doesn't really help in the whole "pulling" section but she somehow managed) and found a light switch low enough for her the mess with. These pictures tell the story.