*make sure to click "View entire message" to get access to the full newsletter!* |
|
|
|
|
Maine Agriculture in the Classroom is transitioning to ONLINE Grant Applications! Please be patient with us as we navigate this new process.
You can access the online grant applications on the grants page on our website.
|
|
|
MAITC Grants are funded by owners of the Agricultural Specialty License Plate |
|
|
Need some ideas and inspiration? Check out the archived lists of previously funded projects!
Apply for funding to support ideas that teach through the lens of agriculture. Submit your application to support your endeavor using agriculture as a context for learning!
DEADLINES:
Category 1 - Agricultural Awareness Grant - Up to $1,000: 4pm on August 31, 2023.
Category 2 - Agricultural Awareness Grant - Up to $2,000: 4pm on August 31, 2023.
Category 3 - School Garden & Greenhouse Grant - Up to $2,000: 4pm on August 31, 2023.
Category 4 - Agriculture Leadership Grant - Up to $1,000: The revolving deadline is 4pm on: June 30, August 31, and December 15, 2023.
Category 5 - Statewide Agriculture Education Organization Grant - Up to $2,000: The revolving deadline is 4pm on: June 30, August 31, and December 15, 2023.
|
|
|
Summer Teacher's Institute |
|
|
You can't deny it - these teachers are definitely having FUN!
Register Today for the Maine Agriculture in the Classroom Summer Teacher's Institute!
Join us this year at the University of Maine at Presque Isle from July 31 - August 4, 2023. 28 Contact Hours or 2.8 CEU’s. Scholarships are available! Space is limited so register early! Learn more on our website!
|
|
|
Maine School Garden Network School Garden Summer Tours |
|
|
|
|
The summer garden tours are a chance to unwind and relax with fellow school garden coordinators, teachers and volunteers. Each new location offers a chance to see school gardens in full bloom, learn different growing tips, techniques, and exchange ideas. Most tours conclude with a pot luck meal.
The School Garden Summer Tour Schedule so far includes:
-
June 8th, 4-6pm - Damariscotta Montessori School, Nobleboro, ME
-
July 27th, 3:30-5:30pm - Mt. Ararat High School, Topsham, ME
-
August 16th, 3-5pm - Old Town Elementary School, Old Town, ME
|
|
|
The Second Annual Local Foods Culinary Competition Challenge |
|
|
On April 27th at the UMaine Food Pilot Plant and Commercial Kitchen, teams from Maine Career & Technical Education High School Culinary Arts Programs met for the second Local Food Competition for CTE Culinary Arts Programs. Eight teams competed to demonstrate their skills in preparing local, seasonal Maine foods. The emphasis on Maine grown and processed food helps students better understand our state’s agriculture and gain knowledge about the role the food industry can play in supporting Maine agriculture.
First Place – Somerset County Technical Center, Team of: Justine Stuart and Nevaeh Holmes (Instructor – Chef Matthew Crate)
Second Place - Bath Regional Career and Technical Center, Team of: Eleanor Nery and Rory Garnett (Instructor – Chef EB Baldwin)
Third Place (not pictured) – Tri-County Technical Center, Dexter, Team of: Addison Hall and Lillian Harris
Congratulations to ALL!
|
|
|
 |
The White-Reinhardt Grant Program funds projects that will increase agricultural literacy. County and state Farm Bureaus may apply for $1,000 grants for education programs for grades K-12 in order to initiate new ag literacy programs or expand existing programs. Organizations and individual schools can work with their local Farm Bureaus to apply. Grants are available on a competitive basis.
The grant cycle has changed and beginning this year there will be one cycle per year held in the summer. The 2023-2024 school year application closes June 16, 2023!
|
|
|
|
- Best Practices in Science Teaching - Augusta: June 3rd
- Best Practices in Science Teaching - Saco: June 16th
- Building a Culture of Teaching Outside - Mexico: June 24th
- Building a Culture of Teaching Outside - Easton: June 29th
|
|
|
|
|
This year, the Friends of Katahdin Woods and Waters annual Teacher Camp will focus on how educators can integrate Wabanaki studies into school curricula, the purpose and history behind LD 291 and attendees will also participate in a Wabanaki REACH program to deepen their understanding of Wabanaki history and present issues.
Teacher Camp will be held this year on June 20th from 9am-4pm at the Stewart Learning Center in Lincoln. Registration is required and scholarships are available.
|
|
|
|
Looking for a classroom pet? How about adopting a COW?!
The Discover Dairy “Adopt a Cow” program is an exciting, year-long experience for your classroom, and totally free! Registration is open for the 2023-2024 program. You and your students will watch a calf on a New England dairy farm grow, receiving photo updates and stories about her throughout the school year.
|
|
|
|
Over 1,800 students attended this year's Northeast Livestock Expo Kids Day at Windsor Fairgrounds on May 18th! There were 25 different agriculture related activities and exhibits for students to visit and explore. Bees, cows, goats, horses, butter making, hand washing, and so much more! We know a favorite from the Thomaston Grammar School students was the Blacksmith! Stay tuned for the announcement of next year's NELE Kids Day, and we hope to see you there! |
|
|
Maine Nutrition Council Annual Conference - June 23rd! |
|
|
Harvest of the Month - June is Maine Leafy Greens! |
|
|
|
|
Click here for the great Harvest of the Month (HOM) materials - posters, fact sheets, recipes, social media promo, and more!
All of our HOM Resource Pages can be found on our Teach ME site under "Teaching Units"
|
|
|
Another Resource:
Learn about traditional and modern culinary uses for indigenous foods including dandelion greens, fiddleheads, and sorrel.
|
|
|
|
New Resource! Matrix Vocabulary |
|
|
|
|
The National Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix provides K-12 educators with relevant standards-based instructional resources. The lesson plans and companion resources use agriculture as a context for science, social studies, and nutrition education content.
New on the Matrix is a downloadable spreadsheet of the Matrix vocabulary. You can choose to download all of the vocabulary words used in the Curriculum Matrix or sort it by grade level.
Also new to the Matrix is the addition of the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework to some lessons. To find lessons with C3 framework, type "C3" into the Matrix search bar.
|
|
|
Teacher Resources Section |
|
|
A Taste of Leafy Greens. Grades K-2. Students explore a variety of greens to identify their structure and function in plant growth and prepare, cook, differentiate, and enjoy the health benefits leafy greens have to offer.
That Was Then, This is Now. Grades 3-5. Students explore food prices and how they have changed over time as they perform mathematical computations, analyze data charts, and compare and contrast statistical information.
From Foraging to Farming. Grades 6-8. Students will participate in a foraging activity, gaining perspective on how scarcity of resources can affect well-being and how agriculture provides the benefit of a steady, reliable food supply. Then they will read about hunter-gatherers and early agriculture and use maps to explore how geography affected the development of early civilizations.
Healthy Eating Away From Home. Grades 9-12. This lesson highlights awareness of consuming nutrients and calories away from home, and where to find the calorie and nutrition information for foods available in fast food restaurants. It also highlights how to determine individual calorie needs, as well as the number of calories in a typical fast food meal, and it focuses on dietary goals for saturated fat and sodium.
Looking for more? Explore the Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix HERE
|
|
|
Processed Food Breakdown. This 20-minute activity allows students to apply their knowledge of reading food labels and identifying the nutrient content of food. Students work in groups and are challenged to create a nutritious meal with processed foods. This is an ideal capstone activity for a lesson on reading food labels and determining the nutrient content of foods.
Eat & Move O-Matic. Free app teaching students how foods fuel their body to create energy for their favorite activities.
Science in Your Shopping Cart. We pay less for food than citizens of other nations; the United States enjoys the cheapest food in the world. Each year, dozens of improved products and new varieties of fruits, nuts, and vegetables emerge from the laboratories and greenhouses of the Agricultural Research Service. But walking through the grocery store, do we ever consider where such an abundance and variety of food and products come from? Learn about ARS research and how it affects your food using the "Science in Your Shopping Cart" Factsheets and podcast.
Gourmet Lab: The Scientific Principles Behind Your Favorite Foods. Hands-on, inquiry-based, and relevant to every student’s life, Gourmet Lab serves up a full menu of activities for science teachers of grades 6-12. This collection of 15 hands-on experiments, each of which includes a full set of both student and teacher pages, challenges students to take on the role of scientist and chef as they boil, bake, and toast their way to better understanding of science concepts from chemistry, biology, and physics. By cooking edible items such as pancakes and butterscotch, students have the opportunity to learn about physical changes in states of matter, acids and bases, biochemistry, and molecular structure. What better topic than food to engage students to explore science in the natural world?
|
|
|
More funding opportunities are listed from some of our friends:
|
|
ReTreeUS plants orchards in schools and provides educational programs that empower people to be healthy environmental stewards.
Fuel Up to Play 60 offers educators a wide array of resources they can use to help students make sustainable changes in their school environment.
Agroworld is an agricultural science e-zine developed for the secondary educator.
KidsGardening has ideas about plants and gardens, teacher resources, and grant opportunities.
The Chop Chop magazine and website has easy and healthy recipes.
|
|
|
This document is a compilation of agriculture related resources to be used in virtual and remote learning.
Pictures, videos, and words are hyperlinked throughout the document.
|
|
Funding from this plate has impacted up to 200,000 students annually with lessons, materials, volunteers and teacher training. Annually up to $60K is distributed in grants to schools, FFA, 4-H and other Non-profit programs for Ag education initiatives by the Maine Agriculture in the Classroom Council.
|
|
Donate today to The Maine Agriculture in the Classroom Association
The Non-profit, completely volunteer, portion of MAITC. These funds are used directly to support teacher scholarships and recognition, and support volunteer participation for Ag education programs. Your donation is completely tax deductible and you can make a one-time donation or a recurring monthly donation which will support the mission, "to promote the understanding of agriculture and natural resources among students, educators, and the general public." If you have any other questions or would like to join this group please contact the chairman, Maryjane Stafford. Donate Here.
|
|
Our Mission Statement
"To promote the understanding of agriculture and natural resources among students, educators, and the general public"
|
|
|
|
28 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333
(207)287-5522
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
