Homeschooling at the Agricultural Fair

We saw a little blurb in the local paper about an agricultural fair at one of the parks in town and decided to take a homeschool road trip.  Very educational on many levels.  There was a blacksmith “making things with fire and a hammer”, as The Boy put it.  A new-born calf, baby pigs and sheep and goats.  Chicks, chickens, roosters and peacocks everywhere.  He won some soy crayons and a coloring book about recycling by correctly answering questions on a quiz sheet at one booth.  Another booth featured crops grown in Arizona.  Did you know that enough pecans are harvested in Arizona each year to make 10 million pecan pies?  Now that’s science I can get behind!  Tractor pulls, of course.  However, a nearly traumatic situation occurred when we wandered over to the barn where a cow was being milked with a milking machine.  We have at various times explained to The Boy where milk comes from, but the real thing was a bit more than he expected, poor city-raised child.  His comments greatly entertained the crowd around us.  At least he hasn’t given up on drinking milk.  An actual traumatic event occurred as we were leaving, but the trauma was mine.  The fair was held in a park that used to be part of a large farm/ranch, and many of the original buildings are still standing. The main farmhouse has been restored and was open for self-guided tours, so we toured.  First I noticed a small table that was the exact twin of one I’ve had for years.  Then I saw a huge old radio with big dials like one I remember listening to in my grandmother’s house.  Kitchen utensils, laundry supplies, embroidered doilies, an old toilet with the water closet mounted up near the ceiling-  all were uncomfortably familiar, albeit dimly so.  Daughter was hugely entertained as I pointed out items in every room that I could remember from somewhere in my past.  How did my past become antique?  As I said, trauma indeed.  Our educational homeschool day at the agricultural fair cost us exactly $4.00.  And the trauma?  Priceless.