It was a perfect day for a fall getaway. And that's just what students from two area schools did Tuesday at Shaw Farms near Milford.

Ben Younger (left) and Shalom Meir, both 5, kindergartners at Cincinnati Hebrew Day School, sit among the pumpkins at Shaw Farms on Tuesday. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        This genuine field trip began with a group picture for each class at the giant wooden pumpkin, continued with a hay-wagon tour of the farm, and included a lesson on how a pumpkin grows.

        “They see how it starts from a seed, grows two leaves, becomes a vine and then grows into a pumpkin,” said Rosanne Fels, who accompanied her kindergarten students from St. Elizabeth Seton Elementary School in Mount Repose.

        They were joined at the farm by youngsters from Winnie the Pooh Preschool in Anderson Township.

        When they weren't quaffing cider, crunching through leaves or threading their way through the cornstalk maze, the children learned what it takes to operate a farm. As many as 25 members of the Shaw family help out on their 1,800-acre spread.

        “We're a working farm,” said Pam Shaw. “We have field crops, summer produce, and a 25-acre pumpkin, gourd and squash patch.”

        Shaw Farms is open to the public, and it includes a play area where children can romp with carved storybook and cartoon characters.

Check out our special Halloween section at Cincinnati.com/halloween

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