On the morning of New Years Day, one hundred and fifty local children and their parents gathered at Parsley Lane Farm for an educational, open-air, hands-on event. This event included a free story time by local author Pat Goldys, six sensory bins filled with toys donated by Macaroni KID Daytona for a "treasure hunt," grab bags that included free admission to the Museum of Arts and Sciences, bookmarks donated by local author Jess Dailey, pencils and erasers provided by the Volusia County Library, free books given away by the Early Learning Coalition of Flagler and Volusia, painted farm-themed rocks hidden throughout the farm AND hands-on time with the farm animals of Parsley Lane Farm, which included chickens, donkeys, goats, cows, horses, pigs and more! With a record number of local families in and out of the farm for the day, it was a wonderful morning had by all, filled with energy, smiles and learning; the perfect way to end 2022 and begin the new year!
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Pictured: Local Author Pat Goldys conducting free story time during the event with her grandaughter, Mila Goldys, who helped set up the event and also volunteers at the farm.
Pat, a retired educator from the local school system, began writing her books while telling bed-time stories to her granddaughter, who naturally, wanted pictures included. She reached out to an illustrator and the rest is history! She has a large collection of these books, which she reads every Saturday during FREE story time at Parsley Lane farm. All of the books are based off of real-life situations and include lessons and facts for the children to learn. Pat has teamed up with Christine Bourne, owner of Parsley Lane farm, to host events and crafts at the farm to accompany her story times during all of 2023!
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Pictured: Christine Bourne, owner and founder of Parsley Lane Farm (left) and local author Pat Goldys (right).
Christine Bourne, a local graphic artist, founded Parsley Lane Farm with the goal to educate and give back to the community. "Parsley Lane Farm is a local, heirloom and organic working farm. It was founded by a local school principal and an artist with a vision of establishing beautiful gardens of plants and flowers. Surrounded by Florida’s natural wildlife and their wonderful farm animals, their mission is to share the farm and to educate the public. They are now an official Agritourism Operation organization. Parsley Lane Farm is an organization with a mission to make a difference in our community while doing their part to protect the earth. Their educational experiences provide the community with ways to connect with nature and learn about regenerative farming. They are committed to supporting local artists and small business through their Marketplace and partnership events." Learn More.
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Pictured: Publisher of Macaroni KID Daytona, Savannah Kater, with her daughter E, mother Leslie Kater, brother Sawyer Kater and sister-in-law Sawa Partridge, who all helped her collect donations items within the community and set up the event.
Macaroni KID Daytona provides a weekly newsletter, detailing all of the events happening from Ormond to Edgewater, as well as hyper-local articles about businesses, a free community calendar and more! To subscribe to this FREE community service, click here.
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Pictured: Books provided by the ELCFV (one given out to each family), local children digging through sensory bin stations for prizes and bobbing for rubber ducks.
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Pictured: Local children enjoying time with the Parsley Lane animals. Parsley Lane is an animal sanctuary that houses over 80 animals, who love visitors. Come see them every Saturday at 10 am for free story time! *All photographs taken by Michelle and Marty Goldys*
Thank you to all that came out for this event and enjoyed the morning with us!
Did you miss this event? Follow the Parsley Lane Facebook page for their upcoming events: https://www.facebook.com/ParsleyLaneFarm and the Macaroni KID Daytona Beach calendar for all local events: https://daytonabeach.macaronikid.com/events
Coming up in the month of January at Parsley Lane Farm:
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See you at the next event! Happy adventuring!
-Savannah Kater, Macaroni KID Daytona Beach
