HARRISBURG, Pa. — More than 450 students from Pennsylvania, New York, Oklahoma and California met their adopted classroom calf while taking part in video chat sessions in April.
Teachers across the country enrolled in the ‘Adopt-a-Cow’ program for their classroom for the 2016-2017 school year as part of Discover Dairy, a dairy education program of the Center for Dairy Excellence Foundation of Pennsylvania. During the school year, the classes received updates about their calf’s growth and care, while learning about the broader dairy industry through Discover Dairy lessons.
“Video chat sessions with the calf and her dairy farmer brought the entire Adopt-a-Cow experience to life for students without leaving the classroom,” said Mary Foote, dairy education programs manager with the Center Foundation. “They could connect the information learned through Discover Dairy and Adopt-a-Cow lessons by asking the dairy farmer questions about the calf and her life on the farm.”
The video chat conversations served as year-end capstones for 15 of the 105 classrooms enrolled in the Adopt-a-Cow Program. “It was a wonderful presentation,” said Lauren Mancias, teacher at Green Valley Elementary School in Sinking Spring. “The students enjoyed seeing Sonja (the calf), Farmer Sebright, learning more about our adopted cow, as well as learning about dairy farming.”
Discover Dairy, managed by the Center Foundation, is an engaging, interactive, cross-curricular, multi-leveled educational series that meets Common CORE Standards for math, science and reading, while incorporating social studies concepts. The program shows upper elementary and middle school students where milk comes from and how dairy farmers contribute to our communities. Discover Dairy is provided at no cost to educators and others interested in teaching students more about dairy foods and farming.
Enrollment for the 2017-2018 Adopt-a-Cow program will open in late August. To learn more about Discover Dairy and the Adopt-a-Cow program, visit discoverdairy.com.
— Center for Dairy Excellence Foundation of Pennsylvania