The excitement from the Tanque Verde Elementary School kindergartners seemingly bursts through the Tanque Verde High School barn. One of the students, Emilia Vincent, reaches out to gently pet one of the goats. She quickly retracts her handas if the goat was too warmwith an elated smile spreading across her face.
But her favorite animal was the horse.
“I saw cows, sheep, horses, chickens and ducks,” she said.
The high school barn is bustling with students, part of the school district’s Rodeo Days. High schoolers are teaching Tucson’s youngest students about rodeo and the Future Farmers of America program.
Beyond the animals, there were coloring activities and horse races. There was even a high schooler teaching the kindergartners about the art of lasso. Each of the kindergartners took turns with the rope, throwing it with all their might on the fake bull head attached to a hay bale.
“This is so special because we get to tell the little kids about our program”, Shyann Torres, a junior at TVHS, said. “Because maybe some day they want to be here in this program and have their own animal at school.”
She said the kids are constantly asking questions, which is the best way for them to learn rodeo and farming.
“I think they are learning a lot here today,” she said. “Some people think food comes from the grocery store, which it does, but that comes from farmers. And this is where it starts. It starts with FFA and farmers.”