Rolins Strawberry Farm Excursion

Our playgroup decided a visit to a local strawberry farm would make a wonderful spring excursion, and we had been looking forward to our visit with much anticipation.

We visited Rolins Strawberry Farm, Elimbah (near Caboolture). This 20 acre farm has been operating for 20 years. We got a wonderful playgroup deal in which the children were able to pick 500g strawberries, and receive a homemade strawberry ice-cream and a chocolate dipped strawberry for only $8 each.

On arrival the children were each given a basket to fill, and we followed our lovely host Donna who took us to our picking tunnel, and showed the children how to pick strawberries correctly.

Tips for picking strawberries - avoid touching the berry, break it off along the stalk instead.

Such delicious, juicy strawberries it was too hard to resist eating them along the way!

And they were soooo sweet!

Baskets full, it was time to take a rest on the grass - and eat more strawberries.

Then we went to see some of the pickers in their carts.

Some expert tips for baskets of delicious strawberries like this;

1. Buy some good runners (as opposed to the seedlings in punnets)

2. Give them lots of water, but strawberries don't like to be watered from above - put a watering spike into the ground and water them that way.

3. Liquid fertilisers (such as fish emulsion, seaweed) are good.

4. Strawberries need to be pollinated - take one of your flowers and gently touch it to the other flowers.

Time for some strawberry ice-cream anyone?

And the chocolate coated strawberries went down a treat...

they didn't last long at all.

The children played on the lovely wooden playground whilst the mamas recovered their energy.

Then a few fun photos...

before it was time to head home.

Spring Celebration

Families arrived with scrumptious spring food and fragrant flowers.

We made our way out to our picnic spot, shaded by some friendly trees.

Through the meadows let us walk

See what wonders spring has brought...

The flowers were a beautiful centrepiece for our circle time as we sang our songs of spring.

Then we set to work weaving beautiful flower crowns

Spring is here!Spring is here!

From flowers make your crown.

Place them on your sunkissed heads

Join hands and dance around.

(Old Freedom Train, Shayne Jackman)

The children chose their flowers and mamas helped plait their crowns with green rafia. The flowers were then woven through the plait.

Crowns ready, it was time for the Maypole.

In and out, in and out,

Weave the ribbons tight.

'Round the maypole we will dance,

To the left and to the right.

We wound our way around the maypole to some lively accordian jigs.

The table was laden with fresh, vibrant spring fare for our Spring Feast.

Then it was time for our Magical Bubble Wands.

The children gathered around eagerly to receive their wands.

"Bubbles, bubbles, the most beautiful bubbles we've ever seen

Bubbles, bubbles, lets catch a rainbow dream"

(Susan Perrow)

Who can resist the magic of bubbles?

Finally we ended our beautiful morning with outside Storytime.