Wondering how to pry your little darlings away from their computer screens, video games and TV sets this summer? Try sending them away to milk a cow, feed some goats and hoe corn.
Yes, ship them to a farm. Penny and Richard Barker, former London-trained Montessori teachers, think there are great “historical, social and natural lessons” to be learned from farm life. So each summer they run The Country School on their Ohio farmstead in the heart of Amish country.
Here 35 children, ages 6 through 12, spend their days caring for animals (American Alpine dairy goats, cattle, ponies, sheep, hens, bantams, rabbits and hogs), working in the orchards and the gardens, churning butter, gathering wild berries, playing simple games and just reflecting on their experiences.
Sarah Detzner, 11, of Lombard, will be returning this summer for her third visit to the farm.
“She loves it there,” says her mother, Georgianne. “When she came back, she talked about it all year.”
“I learned it was possible to live without TV, books and electricity for a week,” says Sarah, who saves her own money to help pay for the trip. “It was a very rewarding experience.”
Her favorite times: taking care of the animals and jumping into the creek with her clothes on. Her least favorite: shoveling manure.
The school offers 12 five-day summer sessions, from June 3 to Aug. 19 ($375 a session), with a three-day session Aug. 31 to Sept. 2 ($200). The Barkers are assisted by their four adult children, who are trained in outdoor education.
For older children, the Barkers offer adventures in the Rocky Mountains and in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
An open house and tour of the farm will be held May 5 in Ohio.
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For information, write the Barkers, The Country School, 5221 Township Rd. 123, Millersburg, Ohio 44654.