Farm Safety for Just Kids program makes appearance in Newton

Living in an agriculture dominated region, farm safety is an essential toolchildren must be taught. On Friday, the Newton Public Library teamed up with Farm Safety for Just Kids for a special presentation on the subject.

FSJK outreach coordinator Morgan Schafbuch gave a bit of information about her presentation and her duties within the organization.

“Today, we’re going to (read) a story book that talks about different seasons on the farm,” Schafbuch said. “And I have a little demonstration to do to show why it’s important that you shouldn’t play in grain bins and in grain wagons.”

Schafbuch’s presentation is designed for children ranging from preschool ages to sixth graders. She said she adjusts her presentation to the crowd she has that day and has various educational tools she implements during her programs’.

“We get all the curriculum and materials, but we can cater (it) to our audience depending on the age-range, what they want and how long we have,” Schabuch said.

She even does a little bit of work with farm puppets, each of which she has affectionately nicknamed. There’s “Claire the Cow”, “Rufus the Dog”, “Charlie Horse”, “Billy the Goat” and “Peter Rabbit.”

“They totally get into the puppet shows, so it’s pretty fun,” she said.

Growing up on a farm and being a life-long 4-H member, Schafbuch said she see’s working for this program as a way to not only help spread awareness of farm hazards, but as a way to give back. After being a part of this program for almost a year, she can tell you exactly what she enjoys most about it.

“I really love (working with) younger elementary and preschool ages, because I really feel like they can walk away with something,” she said.“That’s kind of what a lot of the curriculum is geared towards,so — even though I want to be a high school teacher — I thoroughly enjoy the younger kids.”