What a lovely day here on the farm with 18 adults and 30 little ones visiting. I feel like the pied piper as I wander around with a line of children behind me. And every now and then I feel a little hand holding mine as we move on from one animal to the next. Feeding, patting and holding various members of our farm menagerie. I call these our mums and bubs tours but of course we get dads and grandparents as well as mums bringing their littlies out to see the farm animals. I try to keep it real. I don't want it to become a petting zoo. I really want the children to see farm animals being treated with respect and being allowed to express their natural behaviours.

Paper Pots

Our Mums and Bubs tours are becoming more and more popular and so now we are running two a month. The tour attracts different people for different reasons. Some parents just want an outing , a mid week entertainment for their kids. Others come along as a social outing with a group of friends.We get mums and dads and sometimes grandparents who bring the children along. And then there are those parents who are really keen to see what goes on here at our permaculture property. But whatever the reason the children have a lot of fun interacting with the animals and playing on the ''tractor'', or just running around...

Brushing Sir Bowie Charles the little pony.

The guinea pigs are a great attraction. A little while ago we replaced the back of the ute with a tray top and kept the old ute back as a place for the children to connect with the guinea pigs. It certainly helps me as I no longer have to run around the paddock trying to catch those guinea pigs which have escaped from little hands. The children love the guinea pigs and will sit for quite a long time with them in their lap.

Some rubber matting on the floor gives a comfortable place to sit.

I keep the group quite small, just 12 adults, so that the children aren't overwhelmed by too many people and they all get a chance to interact with the animals.

I try to bring some seasonal activity to each tour. This week we used the apple slinky to peel and cut some apples ....

....and made some paper pots. We popped a snow pea in each little pot and the children took them home to care for.

If you would like to come along for a farm experience with your little ones, it's easy to book in via our website, just click on the link at the side bar.We would love to meet you and show you our farm.


I have one place at our next Mums and Bubs tour on the 24th March to give away. If you live locally and would like to have a chance of winning  please leave a comment and I'll draw the winner on Wednesday 18th at 5pm. Good Luck