Author: info@discoverdairy.com
Interactive Dairy Puzzles for Holiday Break
This dairy-themed activity sheet is an interactive worksheet you can send home with students over Christmas break! The sheet includes three fun mind teasers:
- Navigate the route from the farm to the breakfast table. Without crossing any black lines, draw a line from the milk truck to the grocery store to your cereal bowl.
- Unscramble the letters to form the dairy words at the left of the page.
- What’s happening at the dairy processing plant? Connect the dots to find out!
Age group? These activities are ideal for elementary and middle school students.
Visit the Calving Corner Exhibit at PA Farm Show in January and Meet Brittany From Discover Dairy
If you live near the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area, consider taking a trip to the Calving Corner exhibit at the PA Farm Show! The exhibit, which is a live dairy cow birthing center, will be held at the PA Farm Show from January 6-13, 2024. Meet newborn calves that were born that week, talk directly to dairy farmers, and participate in “Moo U” hands-on STEM learning activities that are kid-friendly and perfect for the whole family. If you can’t make the trip in person, the Calving Corner also live streams the birthing process all week long on their YouTube channel. Brittany from Discover Dairy will be leading a milk activity on Saturday, January 13 all day long.
Find the Calving Corner in the Northeast Hall at the PA Farm Show. Click here for more information about the PA Farm Show and directions.
Age group? The Calving Corner is ideal for students of all ages.
A Dairy Education From Start to Finish
Share the entire story of dairy with your students– from the time it leaves the cow, to its life at one of our processors, all the way to the minute it lands in your cereal bowl! Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin has several resources to educate students about dairy, nutrition and farming. Their age-appropriate Book Lessons will help students discover how their food travels from farm to their table. Their “We Are America’s Dairyland” videos can be used to supplement these books or be shown separately before a field trip to a local farm. The “Virtual Dairy Farm Tour” is the perfect way take a field trip to a dairy farm from the comfort of your own classroom.
Age group? These activities are ideal for elementary students. They have additional resources for older students on the page.
How Do Cows (and Calves) Stay Warm in the Winter?
The weather outside may be frightful but dairy cows are delightfully warm inside the barn! Did you know a cow’s ideal temperature is between 25°F – 50°F? Most barns are equipped with curtains that may be manually raised or lowered to protect against snow and wind. Soft sand or straw beds keep cows warm and dry. And sometimes calves wear calf jackets to conserve heat — much like we wear coats! Learn more about how dairy farmers keep their cows healthy and comfortable, especially during the coldest months:
- Curtains. Most barns are equipped with curtains that may be manually raised or lowered to protect cows from cold weather and whipping winds.
- Bedding. Soft bedding, like sand or straw, is provided around-the-clock to help keep cows comfortable and warm.
- Calf Hutches. Calves are often kept in hutches or individual pens, which have clean and dry bedding (like straw) for them to nestle in and doors that may be temporarily shut to protect them from cold weather and wind.
- Calf Jackets. Many farms also use calf jackets to help calves conserve heat and stay warm, much like we put on coats to keep warm.
Read this article, which includes a video to play for your students, to learn more about how dairy farmers keep their animals warm and comfortable during wintertime.
Holiday Dairy Appetizer Recipes
| This week, we have two creative holiday appetizers you can try using everyday dairy products like cheese and butter. This cozy Garlic Butter Candle recipe can turn your holiday appetizer of bread and butter into an interactive experience! This festive Char-cute-TREE video (link will open in Instagram) could be a hands-on recipe to try with kids over the holidays, too. |
| Garlic Butter Candle Ingredients – 2 sticks of salted butter – 1 head of garlic – 1 tablespoon olive oil – Pinch of salt – 1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs such as thyme, oregano, basil or rosemary (optional) – 1 paper cup, 12 – 16 ounces – 1 edible candle wick (food safe, organic hemp/bees wax) – 1 fresh baguette or your favorite bread or roll Directions 1. PREHEAT oven to 400°F. 2. SOFTEN butter to room temperature and place in a mixing bowl. 3. ROAST the garlic head in the oven: Slice ½ inch off the top of garlic bulb, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Wrap in tinfoil and bake on a baking sheet at 400°F for 45 – 60 minutes. 4. COOL roasted garlic head to room temperature. Squeeze the cloves out of their skins into the bowl of softened butter. 5. ADD salt and/or other desired herbs to the butter and garlic and mix until well combined. 6. CUT a small hole in the bottom of the cup. String a length of edible wick through cup hole. 7. FILL the cup with the softened butter mixture, making sure the wick remains centered. Refrigerate the cup until butter is firm. 8. FLIP the butter candle out of the cup or cut the paper cup off the candle and place onto a serving plate. You may need to cut the paper cup to release it. Trim the wick if needed. 10. LIGHT the candle, allow the butter to start melting. Dip the sliced bread or other desired foods (such as radishes or cooked potato spears) into the garlic butter and enjoy! |
Snowman String Cheese Snack Idea
Stephanie Sattazahn, an elementary teacher from Pennsylvania, got creative this month with this dairy snack idea. She told her students that their adopted calf, Bella, had given them each a delicious string cheese snack and made some simple connections to nutrition and health. To add a fun winter/holiday twist to this clever idea, try decorating your cheese sticks to look like a snowman (see below)!
“During snack time, my students were excited to get a snack from Bella. Nothing fancy, just passed out the string cheese and asked why Bella would be giving us string cheese. We then talked about the importance of having three dairy products a day and listed different dairy products we could eat.”
—Stephanie Sattazahn, elementary teacher
Chocolate Candy Cane Milk Recipe
| This week, we have an easy Chocolate Candy Cane Milk recipe you can try with your students. The recipe seamlessly blends the rich allure of chocolate with the refreshing zing of a candy cane to create a drink that’s as indulgent as it is festive. |
| Ingredients (Milk) – 2 cups milk – 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup – 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract Ingredients (Garnish) – 4 (3-inch) peppermint candy canes, divided – 2 tablespoons milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips – 1 teaspoon milk Directions 1. Using a pitcher, bowl, or container with a pour spout, combine milk, chocolate syrup and peppermint extract. Whisk or stir with a spoon until mixed. 2. Store covered in the refrigerator until ready to serve. 3. For the garnish, place two candy canes in a resealable plastic bag (or use one 6-inch candy cane) . Using a rolling pin or the bottom of a plastic cup, crush candy cane into small pieces. Pour crushed candy cane into a small shallow bowl. 4. In a separate bowl, combine chocolate chips and milk, microwave on high for 20 seconds. Stir melted chocolate until smooth (microwave for 10 more second if there’s still chocolate lumps). 5. For each serving, turn an 8-ounce drinking glass upside down and dip the rim first into the melted chocolate, then into the crushed candy cane. Place glasses in freezer for five minutes, then store in the refrigerator until serving time. 6. To serve, stir flavored milk mixture if it has been stored for more than five minutes. Divide mixture evenly between the two garnished glasses. Place one candy cane into each glass for stirring and enjoy. |
Dairy Fun Fact
At birth, a calf’s rumen (one of the 4 compartments in their stomach) is nonfunctional. As calves eat grain and hay during the first 5 months of life, a calf’s rumen grows at a rapid pace, faster than any other organ in their body!
Share this fun fact with your students as you introduce your Update 1 photos to them this week.
Join Farmer Harrison for a Virtual Farm Tour on December 22
For a fun activity right before Christmas Break, you and your students are invited to American Dairy Association North East’s Virtual Farm Tour with Scattered Acres Dairy Farm and Farmer Harrison on Friday, December 22. The virtual tour includes three live stops: the cow barn, calf barn, and milking parlor to see how the whole farm works day to day.
Date: Friday, December 22, 2023
Time: 10 a.m. EST
Register: Click here to register.
Age group? This “deep dive” Farm Tour is ideal for grades 6-12.
Date: Friday, December 22, 2023
Time: 11:30 a.m. EST
Register: Click here to register.
Age group? This Farm Tour is ideal for grades pre-k to 5th grade.
12 Days of Dairy Holiday Activity Guide
As you and your students learn about dairy farming this school year, it’s time to get into the holi-dairy spirit with this Activity Guide! From crafts and recipes to a heartwarming movie, we encourage you to get creative and make these ideas your own. Want to start with Day Seven? Want to complete three activities in one day? There are no rules – just have fun with it! Don’t forget to tag Discover Dairy on social media to share your cow-themed holiday activities with us.
| Here are a few ideas included in the guide: – Homemade hot chocolate – Cow print marshmallows – Cow print hand ornament craft – Annabelle’s Wish holiday movie activity |
| Age group? These activities are ideal for students of all ages. |