Keiki Pick Pumpkins at Aloun Farms October 26, 2018

Our Tūtū and Me Traveling Preschool’s Makakilo site and our Ka Paʻalana program sites went out to Aloun Farms this week for some fun in the sun!

Upon arrival at the farm, our families and staff were treated to a short video about agriculture on Hawaiʻi and how the farm works (did you know that 62 pairs of hands touch your food before you do?). Then they lined up and went on a hayride, and for many keiki it was their first.

“We went on a hayride for the very first time and we got to see some scarecrows out and about,” said Deja Hansen with her young son Kohl. Deja and Kohl have been coming to Ka Paʻalana for almost two years. “They never fail to amaze us with their knowledge, as well as that one-on-one communication and time that we get to have with our children.”

Families stopped for a photo op in front of the remaining sunflowers before heading down the fields to the pumpkin patch. While the keiki were instructed to try to find smaller pumpkins they could carry on their own, some could not resist the challenge of finding a pumpkin as big as they were.

Ka Paʻalana closed out the day with bento lunches and some resting from the Leeward heat in the shaded picnic areas. All the families had a wonderful time reconnecting to the ʻāina, learning about where their food comes from, and spending time together.

Another one of our program mothers, Nati, also enjoyed the day out with her family. “These field trips are important for us families because not all the time do the mothers, fathers and kids get to have that family time,” she says. “And they don’t have the money to go out, so stuff like this counts.”