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| Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet Calvin MacDougal smilingly participates in the Aroostook County right-of-passage — picking potatoes — with his pre-K class of Fort Farifield Elementary School on Sept. 27. The class visited Leavitt Farms at one of their Limestone fields. Please turn to page 10 for additional photos and story. |
By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
LIMESTONE — While they certainly aren’t the youngest kids to ever pull tubers from an Aroostook County potato field, Fort Fairfield pre-K students of Patricia Smith’s class recently packed their own bags full of self-harvested produce from one of Leavitt Farms fields in Limestone.
Students learned all about the potato picking process, from growing them as seeds to pulling them out of the ground.
Lori Leavitt, of Leavitt Farms, took some time during the busy harvest season to talk with the kids about growing potatoes — she even provided them with a snack of Lay’s Potato Chips.
While most farmers hardly have time to sleep during the busy harvest season, making time for the kids has always been important for Leavitt Farms.
“Call us crazy,” Lori joked, “but it’s all about the kids really, and teaching them something new.”
In Smith’s pre-K classroom, the students are even doing their own potato planting experiments by discovering which will grow — the seed potato with eyes or the seed potato with no eyes.
Leavitt explained that while it’s a little harder with students as young as pre-K, having kids pick their own potatoes is one way to introduce them to that good old-fashioned Aroostook work ethic; though farming has become much more mechanized over the years, there’s still something to be said for youngsters kneeling before potato rows.
About 32 Fort Fairfield students took a trip to Leavitt Farms on Sept. 26 and 27.
Leavitt engaged the students by teaching them hands-on tips for digging potatoes and asking them questions about potatoes and farming.
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| Everyone pitched in to pick potatoes when the pre-K class of Fort Fairfield Elementary School visited Leavitt Farms on Sept. 27 — shown here, Kaleb Bourchard-Nickerson and Jayden Corey transport potatoes they collected from a bucket to a take-home bag with the help of their teacher, Patricia Smith. | When most people enjoy something, they give it two thumbs up; Jayden Corey expressed his approval the class field trip to Leavitt Farms by giving two potatoes up, instead. | Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet Lori Leavvitt, at right, of Leavitt Farms explained to pre-K students of Fort Fairfield how potatoes are grown. Pictured from left, front row, are Raiden Cochran, Madyson Carson-Hebert, Avery Butler, Kaleb Bouchard-Nickerson and Ed Tech Lisa Sirois. In back are pre-K Teacher Patricia Smith and parent Ralph MacDougal. |
