Piedmont Academy students in Mary Ramsdell and Barbara Hill’s K3 class traveled to Forsyth to visit Twin Oaks Fun Farm. The students picked strawberries, fed goats and pigs, played in the corn house, as well as played in the playground. They enjoyed a picnic lunch that was topped off with yummy ice cream made at the farm.

According to countryliving.com, strawberries are the first fruit to ripen each spring. There are 200 seeds on an average plant. Despite their name, they aren’t technically berries—they’re accessory fruits. The seeds can grow into new plants, but most reproduce through runners.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that Americans eat an average of 3.4 pounds of fresh strawberries every year. They are grown in every single U.S. state and Canadian province. California produces 75 percent of strawberry crops in the U.S. Strawberries are considered members of the rose family because they give off a sweet fragrance as they grow on bushes. The plant is considered a perennial since  plants will grow back year after year.

The ancient Romans believed strawberries had medicinal powers and Native Americans were also among the earliest people to eat them. There are three different types: June-bearing, overbearing, and day neutral. You should not rinse strawberries under water until you are ready to eat them—it speeds up spoiling.