We live in the suburbs and are totally used to the city life. With that said, we are very lucky that within a 30 minute drive we are in the heart of some of the best Pennsylvania farmlands. Surrounding our city in all directions are real working farms in all shapes and sizes. Pennsylvania is known as a big agricultural state and you see signs of that every where that you go.
Even though we live in the suburbs…I think it’s important to expose children to farm life and the animals that live on a farm. Luckily, there are several farms nearby that are open for a few months every year and they allow families to come in for a visit. We try to visit 2-3 different farms every year with our grandchildren.
Across the river is one that we recently visited. They allow the kids to get up close and personal with the goats, sheep, calves, farm pigs, ducks, turkeys, the pony and other animals that call this particular farm…home!
This particular place has a reasonable admission fee and then you can pay extra for a bucket of food to feed the animals. Our little grand daughter Gia loves visiting this place and we recommend spending several hours when you visit. This allows you and the kids to take their time and to really participate in all of the farm activities that they have to offer.
All of the animals are very friendly and some will allow you to feed them or pet them. As you roam around the farm you’ll find hay bales for the kids to climb on, tractors for them to climb on, hayrides during the fall season and all kinds of fun other activities that kids like to do!
This particular farm is called the Paulus Farm Market and along with the farm…they have a farmer’s market where you can buy locally grown fresh produce, meats, cheeses, soups and other goodies. What they have for sale…depends on the season of the year.
If you are ever in the south central Pennsylvania area…check out the Paulus Farm Market for a great family-friendly and educational activity to do with the kids. Every year we go at least one time and always have a great time when we visit! You’ll find them located in Mechanicsburg Pennsylvania or just click the link in my blog post to learn more about them.
Since we also live in the suburbs I too used to take my sons to local farms to see the farm animals and be in touch with nature. We always had a good time and I especially appreciated the farmer’s markets located on or near the farm. Some day I would love to visit the Paulus Farm.
We too live in the suburbs but luckily it does not take long for us to get out to more rural areas. We are lucky enough to have several city run farms that kids can visit and at this time of year there are many baby animals which are so cute. Fun for the whole family.
This looks like so much fun to visit! I love animals and so do my grandsons! They would have a blast here!
We live in Kentucky, so it’s pretty much the same here: drive 20 or 30 minutes in any direction & you are in farmland. I love farmer’s markets! I could spend too much money at them, lol. Seeing those animals would be a big bonus! I love piggies, lol.
hahaha! I think the pigs are cute too! Hubby thinks they’re gross! I love visiting farms, Farmer’s Markets, local Fruit Orchards, etc. I could spend a LOT of bucks there too and they’re always fun! Oh yeah, I love visiting Pennsylvania’s largest indoor/outdoor flea market too. Inside they have specialty booths and farmer’s market booths too. I’ll take pics of that place the next time I go and share that on the blog within the coming weeks. It’s a very cool place.
I would really like to raise some of our own animals. It would be nice to be self sustaining.
I grew up in a small town and my Aunt & Uncle owned a farm that we visited often. Once my folks left us there for a week. (I’m sure they had a good time without us kids). We had fun.
Am I the only one who thinks farm animals are the cutest?! Especially pigs, cows, and goats. I can’t eat any of them–they are so precious. I grew up around a farm, including the Amish farms, and my grandfather was a farmer. This looks like a great place to visit too.
What a wonderful farm thank you so much for posting these wonderful pictures. I totally agree with you, it is soooooooo important to expose children to farm life and animals. We have a mama ewe lamb who just had twins right down the road from our house and those twin lambs are so beautiful I love to stop and look at them every time I drive by.