Author: info@discoverdairy.com
Coloring Sheets for Students Over Thanksgiving Break
| With Thanksgiving Break quickly approaching, why not send home some dairy-themed coloring sheets with your students to keep the Adopt a Cow program fresh in their minds? Check out some of these coloring sheet resources: – Undeniably Dairy Coloring Book (includes fun facts and recipes!) – How We Get Our Milk Coloring Book (with a fun storyline about how milk gets from the farm to our refrigerators) – Advanced Coloring Sheets (with fun cow and ice cream designs for older students who can do more intricate coloring) |
Thanksgiving Butter Board Recipe
This Thanksgiving Butter Board with Cacio e Pepe flavor is perfect for your holiday festivities with toasty bread, fresh herbs, and creamy parmesan cheese.
Ingredients:
For Butter:
- 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
For Parmesan crisps and assembly:
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Freshly ground black pepper, for garnish
- 1/2 baguette, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices, toasted
- Assorted crackers, for serving
Directions:
- For butter: Using a hand mixer, beat butter, parmesan, pepper and salt together until smooth.Set aside.
- For Parmesan crisps and assembly: Preheat oven to 400°F and line 2 rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Spoon 2 tablespoons of cheese 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Spread each mound to a 2-inch diameter. Bake until light golden brown and crisp, about 6 to 8 minutes. Let cool at room temperature before removing. Break crisps into large shards.
- Spread butter decoratively on wooden serving board. Top with Parmesan crisps, thyme, crushed red pepper flakes and pepper. Serve with toasted bread and crackers.
Plan a Taste-Testing Activity
This fourth-grade classroom was introduced to Nance Farm Creamery through the Adopt a Cow program. To help students learn more about their host farm, this teacher brought in different flavors of milk from Nance Farm Creamery for her students to taste test! If your host farm makes and sells their own dairy products like milk, butter, yogurt or ice cream, see if you can plan a taste-testing activity for your students. If the farm doesn’t have an on-farm store, you may be able to find out where they ship their milk and what common brands are sold in stores using milk from their farm. This could help you make that farm-to-table connection with your class!
Celebrate National Greek Yogurt Day on November 9
| Did you know National Greek Yogurt Day is on November 9? This is the perfect time to show students how milk is used in some of their favorite foods that they enjoy on a daily basis. From “make and taste” yogurt lessons to a festive yogurt cup turkey craft, here are some creative activities to try in the next few weeks! – Yogurt Facts: Download this yogurt booklet for facts, recipes, nutrition information and more! Age group? This booklet is ideal for students of all grade levels.Make & Taste Greek Yogurt Lesson: In this lesson, students will learn about the basic science of how yogurt is produced, make their own Greek yogurt with a simple recipe, and build a yogurt parfait. Age group? This lesson is ideal for students in 3rd – 5th grade. – Science-Focused Make & Taste Yogurt Lesson: In this lesson, students will be introduced to the science behind yogurt production. They will make their own Greek yogurt, measure the solid and liquid whey created by the yogurt-making process, and discover ways to incorporate Greek yogurt into healthy recipes. Age group? This lesson is ideal for students in 6th – 8th grade. – Fall Dairy Activity Guide: As the days grow cooler and the leaves change color, we have a variety of fall-themed activities that will keep your students busy and introduce them to dairy in creative ways. The yogurt cup turkey craft included in the guide is an interactive way to learn about yogurt, dairy and art! Age group? These activities are ideal for elementary and middle school students. – Halloween Trick or Treat Recipes: From a witches’ brew smoothie to a spooky Halloween snack spread, try some of these dairy recipes this October. Age group? These recipes are ideal for teachers of all grade levels. |
Two Virtual Farm Tours Happening Week of October 23
Sign up for one of two virtual farm tours happening next week! With one being targeted to older students and another hosted for Ohio and West Virginia Adopt a Cow classrooms, both tours will allow you to talk firsthand to dairy farmers.
Virtual Tour: All About Calf Care
Join American Dairy Association Mideast for a virtual trip to Ohio to learn all about calf care in this virtual farm tour at Four Pines Farm! Students will see where the calves live, what they eat and how farmers keep them healthy. Students can ask Farmer Mackenzie questions in real time, and as a special treat for Ohio and West Virginia classrooms, you’ll get to “meet” your adopted calf on the tour. Jolene, Oreo and Snickerdoodle can’t wait to see you!
- Date: Friday, October 27
- Time: 10 a.m. EST
- Length: 30 Minutes
- Location: Ohio
- Questions: Click here to RSVP.
Age group? This farm tour is ideal for elementary and middle school.
Virtual Farm Tour at North Carolina Agriculture & Technical State University
Join The Dairy Alliance for a live virtual farm tour at North Carolina Agriculture and Technical State University, the only historically black college or university with a dairy unit in operation. From a robotic milking parlor to plans for a new creamery in the future, you won’t want to miss out on what makes this farm so special.
- Date: Thursday, October 26
- Time: 1:30 p.m. EST
- Length: One Hour
- Location: North Carolina
- Questions: Click here to RSVP.
Age group? This farm tour is ideal for high school students, college students, and health professionals.
Dairy-Themed Games and Entrepreneur Innovation Contest
With technology and innovation in mind, these online games and innovation kit can help students explore the different facets of agriculture and dairy farming.
| – My American Farm Dairy-Themed Games: Are your students ready to dive into the powerful world of energy? Would they find grocery store shopping and lunchbox activities fun? These online dairy learning games are interactive, fast-paced games to make learning about dairy and agriculture fun! Age group? These online games are ideal for pre-K to fifth-grade students. – Entrepreneur Innovation Kit: Midwest Dairy, GenYouth, and AdVenture Capital have a simple, free, easy-to-integrate entrepreneur innovation and ideation kit for you to use with your students this school year and beyond. How you use the contents of the kit is up to you, but the goal is for your students to feel inspired and empowered to submit a big idea for up to $1,000 in grant funding at the end of it! Age group? This innovation kit is ideal for 8th – 12th grade students. |
High-Protein Pumpkin Bread
This High-Protein Pumpkin Bread is a sweet treat with a dash of whole milk to strengthen muscles, pumpkin that adds delicious, heart-healthy benefits, and oats with fiber to keep you full longer.
Ingredients:
• 1/3 cup of whole milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup of maple syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 2 cups oats
• 2 scoops protein powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pumpkin spice
Directions:
- In a bowl, combine oats, protein powder, and other dry ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, mix pumpkin, milk, syrup, and eggs. Stir well to combine.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients. Stir until everything is thoroughly combined.
- Pour the mixture into a baking pan, spreading it evenly.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Once baked, allow the pumpkin bread to cool before slicing. Serve and savor the delicious goodness!
Create a Gender Guessing Activity
While you wait for your announcement about your adopted calf, many teachers have planned creative gender prediction and guessing game activities with their students. Encourage your students to cast votes or use sticky notes to visually display their predictions (boy or girl) on the board. Take a look at how a few teachers have done this!
Pumpkin Pie Whipped Cream
Check back here for a new dairy recipe in each email! This Pumpkin Pie Whipped Cream would be an easy recipe to make in the classroom and the perfect addition to your fall and holiday desserts.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup heavy cream (cold)
- Pumpkin puree (cold) (amount of your choice)
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Preparation:
- Pop your whisking bowl and beaters in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. This will help the whipped cream whip up nicely.
- Add the heavy cream and powdered sugar to the cold bowl and whisk on high for about 3 minutes. Turn the whisk upside down and look for stiff peaks. If they don’t form, whisk a little more. Don’t whisk too long or it will turn to butter.
- Add in the vanilla and pumpkin pie spice and mix until just combined.
- Gently fold in the pumpkin puree with a spatula until blended.
- Serve cold on top of ice cream, pie, coffee, or anything else you like!
Celebrate National Farmers Day on October 12
Did you know National Farmers Day is happening next week on October 12? Here are two creative ways to celebrate!
- Participate in the STEM Virtual Farm Tour at 1 p.m. ET on Oct. 12.
See STEM in action while we celebrate National Farmers Day with a virtual farm tour! The 45-minute live tour of Sanborn and Sons Dairy Farm in central Michigan will showcase how dairy farmers use Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) on the farm. Farmer Justine will show where the cows and calves live, what they eat, and how she uses data to make decisions.
Age group? This farm tour is open to all classrooms but will target secondary students.
- Write a message to your host farmer. You’ll be finding out who your host farm is in only two days on October 10! Once you do, your students can celebrate National Farmers Day by using our Contact Your Farmer tool to send a personalized message to your host farm. The tool allows you to mail handwritten letters/drawings or send an e-message to the farmers. *Note: Our host farms love receiving mail, but they will likely not have time to respond. Please know that they appreciate all of the fan mail!
Suggested messages: 1) A thank-you message for being your host farm 2) A few things students are excited to learn 3) An appreciative message about how farmers spend so much time caring for their land and animals.
Age group? This tool is open to everyone but is ideal for elementary and middle school students.