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Name: Homestead Sundays - Different Theme Every Week!
Date: July 6, 2025
Time: 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM EDT
Homestead Sundays
Event Description:

Homestead Sundays offer a chance to connect with the past, natural resources and family. Whether you want to explore at your own pace or participate in a program, there's something for everyone! Each Sunday has a different theme. Check in weekly to see what seasonal activities are available.

Be your own guide:

  • Discover and visit livestock - Pigs, sheep, cows and chickens call the Homestead Farm home in the summer. Please remember these are farm animals and not pets. Though they are cute and spunky, they can nibble fingers and sometimes don’t know their own strength.
     
  • Explore historic buildings - How was life different in the late 1800s? Learn about  local farm families and life in a Homestead cabin, explore artifacts and the tool shed,  and even attend a mini school lesson in the one-room schoolhouse!
     
  • Hands-on! Jump in the action with self-guided and volunteer led activities. Sort beans, dress a scarecrow, pump water, sweep the barn or cabin, wash clothes, grind herbs and spices or even work in the gardens!
     
  • Explore the Gardens - Visit the heirloom garden and walk amongst varieties of vegetables older than us all! Chat with a volunteer to learn about traditional uses and cultivation practices. Then head over to the children’s garden to explore how these practices have adapted over time. Roll up your sleeves - the children’s garden is full of hands-on opportunities!
Sundays, June 1-Aug 24

Line2025 Homestead Sunday Themes

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June 1: Get to Know the Homestead
With spring in the air, a visit to the Homestead Farm will connect you to our local natural resources and rich history.

June 8: Meet the Farm Animals
Farm animals are an essential part of life on the farm.  Greet the sheep as you enter the homestead. Stop by the chicken coop to say hello and share some corn with them!   Visit the pig enclosure and learn why pigs were important to the farmstead.  Discover what essential things the cows provided for the farm family.

June 15: Simple Machines
How did farmers get their chores done on the farm?  Stop by and learn how simple machines helped them to complete their many tasks.  Visit the toolshed to see levers in action.  How many wheels and axles can you find in the kitchen? Explore the gardens to learn how a wedge can be helpful in planting.

June 22: Bees and Pollinators
Discover the different pollinators that visit the gardens on the farm and learn how to help them flourish. Visit the nearby hives and learn about honeybees.  Enjoy a scavenger hunt as you look for pollinators and the flowers they rely on!

June 29: A Day on the Farm
What kind of chores had to be completed on the farm?  Stop by and help out! The chickens need to be fed, the gardens tended, and repairs made.  From sunrise to sunset there are always tasks to complete!

July 6: Leisure Activities and Games
All work and no play would certainly be dull!  Farm life was always busy but, on some occasions, there was an opportunity for fun and games. Come relax with us and try your hand at graces and stilts or enjoy a leisurely walk through the garden.

July 13: Fiber, Folk Arts, and Textiles
Join us at the Homestead and try your hand at carding or spinning wool, learn how fleece is processed into yarn and maybe create your own!  Explore different types of fiber arts. Some everyday farm textiles are now considered pieces of art, what ones can you find?

 

July 20: Visit the Gardens
In the 1870s gardens were an important source of food for the farm family.  Stop by and learn about Heirloom vegetables and how settlers used herbs.  Take some time to visit the children’s garden to see what’s growing there and maybe help harvest some vegetables.

July 27: Shelters and Timber Tools
We all need a shelter to keep us safe.  Visit the barn and find out how shelters for farm animals as well as people were constructed before the age of power tools.  Try your hand with a crosscut saw or construct a small section of a timber frame barn. 

August 3: An Afternoon at the Schoolhouse
What was it like to go to school in the 1870s? Visit our one room schoolhouse to find out.  You will be able to practice your elocution, read from a McGuffey Reader and brush-up on your history. Save some time for recess!  Play a game of graces or tag and learn how to walk on stilts.

August 10: A Day at the Cabin
Meals need to be made, the clothes washed and the cabin tidied. Learn how these tasks were completed in the 1870s by exploring the Homestead cabin and experience what life was like for a farm family. 

August 17: Bountiful Gardens
In the 1870s, gardens were an important source of food for the farm family. Stop by the cabin and see what they are having for supper. Learn about Heirloom vegetables and how settlers used herbs. Help weed, water and harvest vegetables in the Children’s Garden.

August 24: Celebrate the Coming Harvest
How did early farm families keep their food fresh without modern refrigeration? Explore the root cellar and visit the cabin to see the many ways food was preserved. Perhaps you will walk away with a few tips and recipes to help you preserve some of your own garden-fresh prod

Location:
Chippewa Nature Center 
400 South Badour Road
Midland, MI 48640, US
Date/Time Information:
Sundays, June 1-Aug 24
1-5 pm 
Contact Information:
Chippewa Nature Center 400 S Badour Rd Midland, MI 48640 989.631.0830
Fees/Admission:
Free | All ages welcome 
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