CHRISTIAN COUNTY, Ill. — Earth is truly an amazing planet because it is the only one we know of in our solar system to be able to maintain human, animal, and plant life. Everything we need to survive is contained here on Earth or in the atmosphere surrounding our Earth. For example, the water we have on Earth today is all the water we will ever have. The water cycle enables us to use and reuse our water. On July 10, thirteen kids at Stonington Public Library and on July 12, thirty-five kids at Assumption Public Library learned about our Earth by listening to a story called “Our Big Home – An Earth Poem” by Linda Glasse. After listening to the story, the kids participated in three related activities; planting seeds in a terrarium, making a bracelet and playing a game. The lesson was offered by the University of Illinois Extension Agricultural Literacy’s “Ag in The Classroom” program.
Christian County Agriculture Literacy Program Coordinator, Charlotte Schuricht taught participants how to build their own terrariums that represented a mini-Earth. By building a terrarium, we can observe the water cycle and learn how it works on Earth to grow plants. The closed terrarium acts as the Earth’s atmosphere keeping all the water vapor inside. Then, the kids made an Earth bracelet. Each bead added on the Circle of Earth Bracelet has a special meaning. For example, a green bead represented plants, red- soil, yellow – sun, orange – day, black – night.
The lesson ended by everyone playing the Farm to Cart board game. The game is intended to help learners to answer the question: Where does food come from? It also allows players to make the connection that food comes from farms before it reaches the grocery store and ultimately our homes.
Funds for this and other Ag in the Classroom programs are provided by University of Illinois Extension, Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation, Christian County Farm Bureau, Christian County Farm Bureau Foundation and United Way of Christian County.
University of Illinois Extension provides practical education that helps people, businesses and communities solve problems, develop skills and build a better future. For more information visit the Unit 18 website at https://go.illinois.edu/cjmm or contact your local Extension office.
University of Illinois Extension provides equal opportunities in programs and employment. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in this program, please contact our office. Universidad de Illinois ofrece igualdad de oportunidades en programas y empleo. Si usted necesita un ajuste razonable para participar en este programa, por favor póngase en contacto con nuestra oficina.
— University of Illinois Extension Unit 18
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