September 2021 | Issue #120 |
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*make sure to click "View entire message" to get access to the full newsletter!* |
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National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference |
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2021 Highlights
Eric, Lynn, Willie, & Jared traveled to Des Moines, Iowa at the end of June for the 2021 National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference. The conference was limited to attendance of 500 and was sold out! Highlights from the conference include Lynn Snow recognized as 2020 National Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture Award Winner, banquet speaker Nicole Jolly from the How Does it Grow? YouTube series, and a trip to the American Gothic site.
2022 Conference
The National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference is headed east!
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Join us in Saratoga Springs, NY, the "Empire State of Agriculture," from June 28th through July 1st, 2022.
Meet educators from across the country, choose from a full slate of workshops, hear nationally renowned keynote speakers and roll up your sleeves to discover ways of integrating agriculture into your classroom.
Maine AITC is planning transportation and teacher scholarships for the 2022 National AITC Conference in Saratoga Springs, NY!
If you are interested please respond HERE.
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Applications for White-Reinhardt grants for Spring 2022 are now being accepted! 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.
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Maine School Garden DAYS - Next Session September 11th! |
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Join Maine School Garden Network for our fourth session of Maine School Garden Days - yes, plural!
"Connecting School Gardens to the Classroom and Cafeteria"
Falmouth Schools have an extraordinary connection between the school orchard and gardens and the classrooms and cafeteria!
Meet Martha Poliquin, Falmouth School Nutrition/Food Service Director, and Justin Deri, the garden and greenhouse coordinator, to learn the secret to developing a collaborative program. Kelsey Fortin from Maine Agriculture in the Classroom will showcase resources, lessons and programs that can help any school pull this together successfully!
Upcoming Sessions:
If you missed a past session, you can watch the video recordings HERE.
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The Maine Agriculture in the Classroom Association's
Annual Meeting will be Wednesday, October 27th
from 5-8pm
at the Maine State Grange in Augusta.
Each year at the annual meeting, MAITC recognizes an outstanding Maine elementary or secondary school teacher who uses agricultural education materials and/or activities in the classroom to teach core subjects.
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The winning teacher is then required to submit—with our help—an application for a National AITC Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture Award and attends the National AITC Conference. Applications are due October 2, 2021. The application (and more info) can be found on our website.
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Maine Nutrition Council Fall Educational Event |
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Harvest of the Month - September is Maine Tomatoes! |
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Click here for the great HOM materials - posters, fact sheets, recipes, social media promo, and more!
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The Adopt a Cow program is a year-long experience for your classroom. After pairing you with a calf from a dairy farm in your region, you’ll receive progress about her growth and exciting updates – including photos of the cow, live chats from the farm, activity sheets for your students, suggested lessons that follow Common CORE standards, and even opportunities to write letters to your calf.
Registration is open now until September 15th.
Funding for this program was provided by New England Dairy and the Connecticut Milk Promotion Board.
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Teacher Resources Section |
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Farm Animal Match. Grades K-2. Students will match farm animals with their young, learn the terminology for males, females, and baby animals, identify the products each farm animal produces, and learn basic facts about how animals are cared for on a farm.
A Tail of Two Sheep. Grades K-2. Students compare and contrast hair sheep and wool sheep, discover the reasons why farmers raise sheep, and explore ways farmers meet the needs of the sheep they raise.
Cultures, Food, and Communities Around the World. Grades 3-5. Students will explore different cultures around the world, compare worldwide communities with local communities, and explain the interrelationship between the environment and community development.
Growing Our State History. Grades 6-8. Students will discover the connections between agriculture, natural resources, and the history of their state.
AgVenture: Sourcing Ag Careers. Grades 6-8. Students consider the scope of agriculture and how it is the source of most of our day-to-day necessities in preparation to explore the five agricultural career pathways.
Bring Home the Blue, Not the Flu! Grades 3-5. Grades 6-8. Grades 9-12. Using the context of a county fair livestock show, students investigate how diseases are spread. With a focus on zoonotic disease, students will complete simulations demonstrating the spread of illness and implementation of biosecurity measures as well as complete an online module to deepen understanding of specific diseases and their prevention.
Looking for more? Explore the Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix HERE
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Don't forget that all SIX of our
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This factual video was made to teach children about sheep. You will meet a new baby lamb, watch sheep dogs in action, and see wool made into yarn. The highlight is watching children prepare a lamb to be shown at the fair. This is a great educational video that kids will love.
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PictureThis - Plant Identifier App. Check out this app for your phone that can help you identify plants, diagnose plant problems, and get everything you want to know about the plant, from watering frequency to pest and disease control, from literature to fun fact.
Composting Guide. A collaboration between Kidsgardening.org and Subpod. The 66-page e-book and lesson guide has three key chapters to teach students about food waste, the benefits of composting and how to grow food.
Show Them the Germs! This activity helps students to understand how germs are spread and how they can prevent disease by washing their hands properly.
AgClassroomStore. Easy to find resources that you can use in your classroom! Lesson kits, posters, books, and more!
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Calling School Gardens! School Garden Grown Project |
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CALLING ALL SCHOOL GARDENS!
School Garden Grown Project
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Maine fairs are ramping up for in-person events this summer! School gardens can exhibit their produce, create excitement for students, and build awareness, with cash prizes to benefit the garden program! MSGN is in partnership with Maine Agriculture in the Classroom to provide information on this amazing project with your LOCAL fair!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Our Mission Statement
"To promote the understanding of agriculture and natural resources among students, educators, and the general public"
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28 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333
(207)287-5522
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