Tis the season! Happy Holidays! With December upon us, it's time to celebrate just one more thing we are all thankful for… agriculture! Check out all of these winter- and holiday-themed lessons and resources.
Check out our two "Farm Bites" related to the holidays: "Christmas Trees" and "Pecans." Learn about these commodities, how they're grown in Illinois, and even hear from real Illinois farm families.
"Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree" by Robert Barry
"Christmas Farm" by Mary Lyn Ray
"Christmas Day in the Morning" by Pearl S. Buck
"Pick a Pine Tree" by Patricia Toht
"Carpenter's Gift: A Christmas Tale about the Rockefeller Center Tree" by David Rubel
"Zetta the Poinsettia" by Alma Hammond
"The Legend of the Poinsettia" by Tomie dePaola
"This Very Tree" by Sean Rubin
"Sleep Tight Farm" by Eugenie Doyl
"Zee Grows a Tree" by Elizabeth Rusch
"It's Winter! (Celebrate the Seasons!)" by Linda Glaser
"Over and Under the Snow" by Kate Messner
"Barn at Night" by Michelle Houts
Watch this brief interview with the author of "Pick a Pine Tree," Patricia Toht. This is one of Illinois Ag in the Classroom's favorite evergreen tree books! Check it out to hear about her holiday traditions, upcoming books, and more!
What flower comes to your mind around the winter holidays? Here at IAITC that flower is a poinsettia! We have two poinsettia-themed lessons that have the perfect ag and science connections. In "pH Poinsettia," students will use a poinsettia as an indicator to test the pH of various products that can be found around the house. With "Paper Poinsettia," students will have a hands-on craft that allows students to learn about the parts of a poinsettia.
The staple of most celebrating houses during the Christmas season is a tree. Check out these lessons that dive deeper in conifer trees (or Evergreens) to learn about the science behind them.
Watch this interview with Brian Helmig, a Christmas tree grower from McLean County, Illinois to learn more about how Helmig Tree Farm grows their trees!
Check out more of our 'ag-accurate' book recommendations to keep your students' interest sparked all year long!
Thanks to April showers aplenty this year, most Illinois farmers will spend the first part of this month planting rows and rows of Illinois' top agriculture commodities: corn and soybeans, and we will follow suit by sharing rows and rows of our favorite corn and soybean resources!
Fun, hands-on activities to get students thinking and problem solving by carrying out STEM and inquiry challenges with connections to agriculture.
As the weather warms into spring, many teachers and students are antsy to start getting back outside during the school day. Over 95% of primary and secondary schools across the country do just that on April 22nd each year - Earth Day! This month on the blog, we will highlight our favorite Earth Day and Sustainability activities that you can use to help you celebrate.