Acorn Co-Op Preschool Visits The Jerseydale Ranch Pumpkin Patch, by Linda Gast

It was a cool crisp fall day when I visited the Jerseydale Ranch Pumpkin Patch run by Brian Finnegan and Bruce Kahl.  The park like setting winds its way around a beautiful pond that is home to a number of geese.  The Pumpkin Patch is ideal for small children, but can also be enjoyed by adults.  Pumpkins are arranged along a split rail fence that borders the pond.  Pumpkins and squash of a wide variety can be found sitting on straw bails and wagons.  The pumpkins and vegetables come from the 600 acre family farm in Plainsburg.  The Jerseydale Ranch covers 113 acres of beautiful pine trees.  Individuals and  groups are welcome to the Pumpkin Patch. 

 

A large group of children from Acorn Preschool were there the day I visited.  The children were accompanied by a parent or grandparent who seemed to enjoy the outing as much as the kids.  The kids were free to run and play wherever they wished.  The only restraint was the cross rail fence that kept them from getting in the pond.

 

A straw bale maze was set up on the lawn.  The kids found it a challenge at first, but by the end of their two hour visit they were running and crawling through it like pros.  Throwing balls through a large plywood pumpkin board was a real hit.  Finnegan seemed to be right at home with the kids as he directed them through each of the activities. The whole morning was well organized, but also left time for the children to explore on their own. 

 

Three baby goats, Curly, Moe and Larry, were more than content to let the children pet and hold them.  The geese began honking as soon as they saw the kids.  Brian brought out a sack of grain so everybody could feed the birds.  Long tables were set up where the kids had a snack of cheese sticks, crackers, juice and apples provided by the ranch.  There was coffee for the parents.  A short lesson on growing pumpkins was presented at snack time and each child was given a seed from inside of a pumpkin. 

 

The class was invited to pick apples from one of the trees.  A number of the parents bought pumpkins for the kids to take home and Mr. Finnegan let the children pick out a big one for their classroom. 

 

 

Linda Gast
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