Stories on the Farm

HOW TO RSVP:
Please call (652-7840) or email the farm ([email protected]) each week to let us know you're coming! This allows us to make sure we have enough materials to share with each young visitor.

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2024 Story Schedule

June 21
A Horsey Home  Written by New Hampshire author Angelina Natale
Maggie’s horses have been living in their garage for months now. It’s time they have a place of their own. Follow Maggie and Mom as they go through the process of designing and building the right home for their beloved horses. Working together, Mom and Maggie consider all the factors that go into placing and building a barn. And filling it with love! Afterwards, we’ll use paper bags to make a horse to take home!

June 28
Pony Parade  Written by New Hampshire author Angelina Natale
Young Maggie is tasked with watching the horses while Mom steps out to run an errand. Nature and frantic horses make a simple task much more difficult. Follow Maggie as she goes through the problem solving process to keep herself and her animals safe. Is she able to get them all in line before Mom returns? We’ll design paper horses using toilet paper roll cores, scissors, construction paper, and glue sticks.

July 5
Mudman and Meatball  Written by New Hampshire author Angelina Natale
Maggie explores the idea of what it means to be a hero. As she and two of her horses walk along their country road, they see an opportunity to do something worthy of a superhero. With determination and kindness, they transform an old field into a garden of endless possibilities. What is your idea of a superhero? Using paper and pencils or crayons, draw your idea of a superhero and then write about his or her special qualities! We’ll share it with today’s group, too!

July 12
The Milkman’s Boy  Written by New Hampshire author Donald C. Hall
Set in the late 1800’s, the Graves family lives on a dairy farm. With the pace of a quieter, gentler time, Hall tells how horses “with hooves the size of elm stumps”, pulled wooden wagons, how the family washed milk bottles and delivered milk on horseback during a blizzard. This book is loosely based on Hall’s own childhood delivering milk for his family dairy! We’ll use milk to make a summer treat today just as the Graves family children did. Enjoy Raspberry Dazzle Pudding in an in cream!

July 19
Old Home Day  Written by New Hampshire author Donald C. Hall
Did you know that Old Home Day celebrations are common throughout New Hampshire? It was a way to honor the returning Civil War veterans as they made their way back to Hampshire towns. In this story, Hall explains how the governor’s 1899 proclamation of “Old Home Day” encouraged everyone who had moved away to come back to visit at the same time each year. This is a tribute to the timeless beauty of a New England village throughout many seasons. We’ll each make a flag to take to our own town’s Old Home Day celebration today!

July 26
N is for New Hampshire  Written by New Hampshire author Rebecca Rule
This is no ordinary alphabet book! Discover the alphabet from Androscoggin to Zealand Falls with delightful anecdotes and useful information. Then help create a group New Hampshire Farm Museum alphabet poem! Parents are encouraged to help, too! We’ll publish your work in the Museum’s quarterly Field Notes!

August 2
The Ox Cart Man  Written by New Hampshire author Donald C. Hall
Nestled in a small New Hampshire farm during the 1830’s, the Ox Cart Man and his family work the land and make items for themselves and others to take to market. The author takes us through the four seasons of farm life in New Hampshire and the importance of each family member in helping to successfully run the farm. Help Grandma Pat identify objects from her basket that the Ox Cart Man’s family made. Then design your own mitten like the one that the daughter made and color in your own pattern. We’ll proudly display them in the ell of the barn!

August 9
Thank You, Sarah!  Written by Laurie Halse Anderson about Newport, New Hampshire’s own Sarah Josepha Hale
Did you know who was the inspiration behind the national day of Thanksgiving? Thanksgiving might have started with a jubilant feast on Plymouth’s shores, but by the 1800’s, America’s observance was waning. Come discover Newport, New Hampshire native’s own Sarah Josepha Hale and her determination to have a President proclaim one national day of Thanksgiving! Today we’ll use the meat grinder to make cranberry orange relish like Sarah had on her Thanksgiving table!

August 16
Mary Had a Little Lamb  Written by New Hampshire author Sarah Josepha Hale
The Plummer and Jones children walked to school on Plummer’s Ridge in rural Milton, New Hampshire. Perhaps their Hampshire sheep escaped from the pasture and followed them to school. What would you do? Listen to Grandma Pat read this well know childhood tale. Then we’ll take a walk to visit our own sheep! Please bring apples and carrots today to feed the sheep!

August 23
The Quilt Story  Illustrated by New Hampshire’s Tomie DePaola
Long ago, a young girl named Abigail put her beloved quilt in the attic. It stayed there for a very long time, until another girl discovers it and makes it her own. The quilt helps her feel secure in her new home. Do you have a favorite quilt or blanket? If you do, please bring it today. We’ll share a few of our favorite quilts with you, too! Then we’ll design a quilt square just like the ones on Abigail’s quilt!

August 30
The Iciest, Diciest, Scariest Sled Ride Ever!  Written by New Hampshire author Rebecca Rule
On a cold winter day when “the world was ice and we were skaters without skates”, seven children set out on a sledding adventure that soon soars to epic proportions! Come hear of the sled, the Lapierres, their friends, and their adventure as they fly down the Old Mountain Road. Just like the hill here on Plummer’s Ridge! Then join Grandma Pat on the Uncle Sam: the longest sled in the world that was made by the B. F. Perkins Company in nearby Farmington, New Hampshire!