Bringing It Home . . .

Hopefully, today at Slide Ranch your family/friends experienced new things, absorbed some of the peacefulness of the farm, ocean and wilderness, and shared an enjoyable day.

We also hope that you’ll carry home with you some of the thoughts, feelings and actions that were awakened today. Here are some ideas of ways to keep the experience alive in your own home.

Activities for Adults

• Review your day at Slide Ranch with your family
  Talk about your visit at meal times. Refer to the farm visit periodically after you leave, in order to help your children remember the connections they hopefully made while they were here. Draw pictures or make poems about farms. Cook meals together, visit our Where Food Comes From and Where Clothing Comes From pages. Plan your next visit to Slide Ranch!
  
  
• Visit a local farmers market
  Other than your own garden, the best source of finding locally grown and organic produce and other farm products is your local Farmer’s Market. Not only are you supporting the local economy, but because the food is locally grown, your purchases reduce the environmental resources used to transport food. Check out a list of Bay Area local farmers markets.
  
  
• Start a backyard or kitchen compost system
  To learn how, visit our Recycling page.
  
  
• Get involved in, or start a school or community garden
  Visit our ranch projects page.

Activities for Children

• Come to Slide Ranch Summer Day Camp or a Family Program
  See our Programs page and keep your eyes open for our upcoming programs – sign up early, as programs fill up quickly.
  
  
• Make Farmers Cheese
  To learn how, see our Recipes page.
  
  
• Plant a Seed
  Use an empty eggshell, egg carton, a planter box, a plastic pot or some soil outside. The seeds that grow the fastest and easiest are sunflowers, peas, radish and lettuce.
  
  
• Start a Kid’s Garden in your backyard or windowsill
  Pick the area of your home or yard you want to make into your garden. Decide how big you want it. Make an agreement with your family so they respect your project. Think about what you want to plant, the work you will need to do to take care of it and special touches such as signs, borders for the garden bed, and decorations. Plant your seeds or seedlings and watch your garden grow. Enjoy the beautiful flowers or yummy vegetables.
  
  
• Grow bean sprouts in a jar
  Buy any kind of untreated peas or seeds (for example, alfalfa, sunflower, pea, lentil, and chickpea). Put them in a glass jar with mesh or cheesecloth over the top. Rinse the beans every day with fresh cold water, drain the water out, and leave the jar on its side in a sunny place. Watch the beans sprout and become a tangled mess!