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Hudson Valley Parent 15
but the experience of growing up on
the farm has certainly had an effect
on Lain's fi ve children. In fact, Lain's
youngest child – M.A. Lain the Fifth
– is preparing to join his father in
running the farm.
"I can still do everything I once
did, but I can't keep up the same lev-
el of energy," said Lain. "That can be
a struggle. My son understands what
needs to done and I'm very excited
to have him on board.
(Continued on Page 16)
Field Trips
According to Katie Sue
Bigness, most children in New
York are at least four generations
away from the farm. That means
most kids lack a personal connec-
tion to local, farm-fresh produce
and the people who grow it. To
counter that, the state founded a
program called New York Agri-
culture in the Classroom over 30
years ago. As the program's Exec-
utive Director, Bigness is helping
to get students out to farms, and
farmers into classrooms.
"In the last few years, we have
gotten more and more teachers
trained and interested in our pro-
grams because we've shown them
how learning about farming and
food not only can be easily incor-
porated into their STEM lesson
plans, but also provides a fun way
to get kids to eat healthier food
and support their local community
farmer," Bigness explains.
More information, including
specifi c lesson plans, teacher
training schedules and
fantastic ideas for classrooms
(and at-home crafts) can be
found online at:
agclassroom.org
