Your Sunday Funday Dairy Resources Have Arrived

Hey Friend,

Welcome to the Sunday Funday email series! Looking for creative ways to supplement the "Adopt a Cow" experience in your classroom this year? Twice a month we will share ideas that could fit into any learning environment, whether it's virtual or in the classroom.

Below are a few ideas to help get your Adopt a Cow experience off to a great start, including virtual farm tours coming up in October, creative gender prediction activity ideas, calf care videos, a fun dairy recipe, and much more. As a reminder, you will receive your host farm announcement on Oct. 10 and your adopted calf announcement on Oct. 17.

As you get ready for your calf announcement on October 17, it's not too early to start introducing the world of dairy farming to your students! Here are a few videos and resources to help your class learn how calves are born and how they are cared for from their first day of life.

Age group? These calf-focused resources are ideal for all ages.

Live Birth Video: To see what a birth is typically like for cows, watch this video from The Calving Corner. From 5:06:44 to 6:10, you can watch the cow go into labor and deliver her calf – and even watch the newborn calf walk for the first time. You could ask your students this discussion question to get the conversation started: How much do calves weigh when they are born? (Typically 50-100 pounds)
What Happens When a Calf Is Born? Have you ever wondered what happens when a calf is born? What do they look like? How big are they? Where do they live? Farmers go to great lengths to make sure that their cows and calves are healthy and well cared for. This article shares more about the birth process on the farm.
Calf Care 101 Video: How do dairy farmers take care of their calves so they can grow to be productive members of the herd? In this 15-minute video, Meadow Spring Farm in Pennsylvania introduces you to some of the calves on their farm and some of their calf care best practices.
Veterinarian Describes Calf Care: Dr. Fred Gingrich, a veterinarian and Executive Director of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, explains how dairy farmers care for their calves from a vet's perspective. Watch the three-minute video.

Dairy Leaders of Tomorrow
Virtual Farm Tour

This virtual farm tour is hosted by Dairy Leaders of Tomorrow to expose high school students to career opportunities on the dairy farm. There are two stops and portions of the tour. Visit Corner View Farm and see robotic milking technology in action. The second stop will be Kirbyville Holsteins & Jerseys farm.

Date: Thursday, October 19

Time: 9:15 a.m. & 12:45 p.m. ET

Length: 60 Minutes Each
Location: Pennsylvania
Questions: Call 717-346-0849

Age group? This farm tour is ideal for high school.

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.

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!

Looking for ideas on how you can implement Adopt a Cow into your classroom? Check back here in each issue for a creative idea from another teacher that might inspire you!

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!