Joy of Learning Farm School

Okay, we’re gonna let you in on a little secret…

While everyone is obsessing over fine motor skills, tracing, worksheets, and pencil grip… gross motor movement and heavy work are where so much of the real development is happening.

Of course fine motor skills matter. But development happens in sequence.

Before the hands can control a pencil well, the body first has to develop:
• Core stability
• Shoulder strength
• Bilateral coordination
• Postural control
• Body awareness
• Sensory integration

And that development happens through movement.

Lifting.
Pushing.
Pulling.
Dragging.
Climbing.
Digging.
Carrying.
Building.

Heavy work activates the proprioceptive system: one of the nervous system’s most powerful organizers for regulation, coordination, motor planning, attention, and spatial awareness.

But heavy work is not just a “pre-writing activity” or a stepping stone to academics.

The human body is biologically designed to move, resist force, carry weight, climb, push, pull, and engage with the physical world across the entire lifespan.

Children don’t outgrow this need. Adults don’t either.

Research consistently links movement and proprioceptive input to:
• Stronger emotional regulation
• Healthier nervous system function
• Improved executive functioning
• Better focus and attention
• Greater confidence and resilience
• Stronger cognitive performance and learning outcomes

Yet somehow we’ve normalized expecting children to sit still for long periods while minimizing the very systems the brain depends on to learn well.

The irony?
The path to healthier development, stronger learning, and even better handwriting often starts far away from the worksheet.

It starts with movement.

So stop obsessing over worksheets and start obsessing over: climbing, carrying, balancing, lifting, pushing, hauling, digging, jumping, dragging, rough-and-tumble play, obstacle courses, uneven terrain, and whole-body movement.

Are you interested in applying to enroll in Joy of Learning Farm School? We are changing our enrollment season to October and November now. This way parents will know earlier that their child is placed. If you have already applied for 2027-2028, there is no need to reapply. This is for families/students who will be NEW to attending farm school.

So proud and happy for our Miss Maggie!!!! Way to go!!! Now on to Special Olympics 🧡🏀 🧡 and then UCM this fall! We are gonna miss you Miss Maggie! 💜💛💙

As this season comes to a close, we leave each other with happy hearts, created memories and a love that will last forever!!!! Thank you for the blessings that came with getting to
Learn alongside these little farmers! We love you more than words can express! Always live loved!! 💓💗💓

Enjoyed our last days of School year 2025-2026 this week! Now for our end of the year 🎉 🎊🐓

Make sure to get registered for our Summer Programming!! May 1st will soon be here.

Summer sessions:
June 1-5
June 8-12
June 15-19
June 22-26--Frazier VBS Week
June 29 to July 2

⌚️9:00 am - 12:00 pm

I have had lots of questions about how we are doing summer this year.
🐖Due to the great response we had for "Farm Camp" last summer we decided to make EVERY week like farm camp.
🐣Animal interactions
🐴Animal safety and care
🐏What farmers do every day
🍅Gardening🥕🥒🥔🫜🫛🥦🧅🍓
🌻Sunflower maze
🎃Help plant the pumpkin patch and then come back in the fall for FREE pumpkins!

🤩Registration is flexible--meaning--you can pick and choose which weeks or days your child will attend.🤩

💵Cost is $30 per day.
One time registration fee of $30.
Before care (8:00 to 9 am) for $7 per day
and extended care offered if enough families interested (12:00 pm to 3:30 pm) for $17 per day.

The week of Frazier VBS is FREE!!!!! You will drop off at Frazier Church at 8:45 am and pick up back at Farm School at 12:00 pm.

Please use our platform Playground to register here: https://app.tryplayground.com/listings/taokUV1MX0fdp7dOkJpu

Come join us for summer!!!

🥳🥳🥳Happy Birthday to Farm School’s Miss Maggie!!!!🥳🥳🥳. We hope your day has been blessed and YAAAAAAY for your next steps in life to play Special Olympics Basketball for Missouri and then attend UCM’s THRIVE program in the fall!
We appreciate ALL Miss Maggie has done to help us at Farm School!

💓🌸💐Happy Spring!!!!💐🌸💓

I think this says a lot that matches my philosophy of Farm School!

👇 Type NATURE to get our FREE GUIDE on Encouraging Outdoor Play in Children 👇

🌿 Something simple can have a powerful impact on a child’s brain: time outside.

Research shows that even a 20-minute walk outdoors can increase activity in brain areas linked to attention, learning, and emotional regulation 🧠.

When children move, explore, and take in natural environments, their brains often shift into a state that is more alert, more focused, and more ready to learn.

Nature does something screens and structured environments often can’t:

🌱 It gently engages the senses
🌬️ It regulates the nervous system
🧠 It supports attention and cognitive function

For many children, time outside isn’t just recreation — it’s brain support.

Sometimes the most helpful thing for a child who is restless, overwhelmed, or struggling to focus is surprisingly simple:

☀️ Go for a walk
☀️ Play outside
☀️ let their brain reset in nature