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a different farm animal sticker or cutout on the arm of each child where it can be seen. Select one child to be "it." The remaining children stand in a circle around the child who is it, who calls out the names of two farm animals. The children with those animals on their sleeves must quickly leave their homes in the circle and try to trade places with each other. The child who is it tries to get to one of their homes first. The child left without a home starts the next round as it.
Milk A Cow
Ahead of time, make a pinhole in each fingertip of a latex glove. Outside, hang a clothesline about three feet above the ground. Clip the prepared glove to the clothesline with a spring-type clothespin. Place a pail below the glove and a low stool or chair beside it. To help the kids understand more about cows, milk a glove! Fill the prepared glove with water. Let the kids take turns squeezing the fingertips of the glove as if milking, so that the bucket goes into the bucket.

Big Bad Wolf
Choose one child to be the wolf. The wolf stands with its back to the other children pretending to be asleep. The other children are the pigs. They stand at a starting line about 12 feet from the wolf. When the teacher says, "Go!" the pigs try to creep up to the wolf without waking it. The wolf counts to 10, shouts, "Freeze!" and turns around. The pigs must stop and be very still. Anyone the wolf sees moving must go back to the starting line. Repeat the game until one of the pigs reaches the wolf. This child may start a new round, becoming the next wolf.

Crossing The Stream
Place two long pieces of string parallel to each other, about 12 inches apart. The strings represent the banks of the stream. Between the two strings lies the water. Have the children line up on one side of the stream. The object of the game is for the children to take turns jumping over the stream without touching the strings or the space in between them. Once every child has had a turn, move the strings farther apart to make the next crossing more difficult. Those children who "fall into the stream" may sit on the sidelines, moving the strings.

Duck, Duck, Goose
All of the children but one sit in a circle on the floor facing the center. The one child left standing goes around the outside of the circle, tapping each child on the head, each time saying "duck." After several times, the child must say "goose!" as he or she taps one last child. This child must jump up and chase "it" around the outside of the circle. If it reaches the "goose's" spot first and sits down, he or she is safe and the goose becomes it. If the goose reaches home first, it must start over again.
Animal Tag
Place

Turkey Strut in the Straw" or some other farm music. Invite the children to act like turkeys, strutting around the room and gobbling as the music plays. When the music stops, the turkeys must quickly find a pair of turkey prints on which to stand. When the music resumes, the turkeys strut around the room again. If you wish, play this game as you would musical chairs, removing a set of prints each time the music stops.
Use masking tape to make turkey footprints on the floor. Put the footprints all over the room. Play a tape of the song " Turkey

Baby Animal Sounds
Select one child to be the mother or father farm animal. The best animals to choose would be sheep, chickens, or cows. Take the mother farm animal to a remote corner of the room and have the animal hide its eyes. Choose one or two of the remaining children to be the babies. All of the children must cover their mouths, as the mother returns to find her babies. The children chosen to be the babies make tiny baas or peeps or moos. The mother or father must listen very carefully to find the babies.

Farmer's Truck
Place several plastic fruits and vegetables on the table. Using a toy phone, pretend to be the grocer and place a call to the child, who pretends to be the farmer. Name two or three specific items for the farmer to place in his or her toy truck for delivery. The better the child becomes at the game, the more items the grocer can request for delivery.

Speak
Select one child to be the farmer. The remaining children are the animals. The farmer sits on a chair with his or her back to the other children. Quietly choose one animal to tap the farmer on the shoulder. The farmer says, "Speak, speak," filling in the blank with the name of an animal. The animal who tapped the farmer on the shoulder makes the appropriate animal sound until the farmer guesses the child's name. That child becomes the farmer for the next round.

How Now Brown Cow
Make a different cow for each child and a duplicate set for yourself. Give each child a cow. Pick one from your stack and pin it to the bulletin board. Have the children look at their cows. If the children think that they have a match to the one on the board, let them bring them up and pin them next to your cow. Have the children examine the cows closely. If they match, have the children say, "How now, brown cow!" If the cows do not match, the children should take the cow back and continue to watch for a match.

Pigs In The Mud
Talk about why pigs roll in the mud. Then have the kids cut out pigs, and then splatter paint with brown paint to symbolize the mud.

Blocks
Encourage the children to build pigpens for toy pigs. Encourage the children to build a farm. Provide some toy farm animals to enhance their play. Using rubber farm animals, children can build homes the correct size for each animal using different kinds of blocks.

Animal Voices
Have the children imitate the sounds of several different farm animals. Record their voice and replay the tape so they can hear themselves.

A Verbal Guessing Game
Using small plastic farm animals, one child holds an animal under the table and gives descriptive clues about that animal while other children try to guess which animal he is holding.

Manipulatives
Make farm animal puzzles for the kids to put together by mounting and laminating pictures of farm animals and letting kids put them back together.

Barnyard Upset

This activity should take place in a gym or outdoors. One child should be chosen to be the "Farmer", he/she should stand half way between each end of the gym. The rest of the children will line up at one end of the gym. They will each be labeled as an animal, such as cow, pig, or horse. When the farmer calls out that animal, they must try to run to the other side of the gym without being tagged by the farmer. If a student is caught, he/she must work for the farmer and help him/her to catch the rest of the animals. If the farmer yells, "Barnyard Upset", every student must try to make it across the gym without being tagged. After every student has been tagged, the game may be started over, with a new farmer being chosen.

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a different farm animal sticker or cutout on the arm of each child where it can be seen. Select one child to be "it." The remaining children stand in a circle around the child who is it, who calls out the names of two farm animals.

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Beanie Baby Grow a soybean in a plastic bag! Biodegradable Packing Peanuts Make them yourself! Circles of The Earth Bracelet Corn Baby Grow corn in a plastic bag! Corn Plastic Make your own plastic!

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Activity to leave in the classroom.

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USU Agriculture in the Classroom partners to provide school garden program

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USU Agriculture in the Classroom partners to provide school garden program

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Tractor Supply launched the program last spring in Tennessee and New York to provide schools with an enriched, hands-on curriculum that would reinforce responsibility and teamwork while deepening students' understanding of the food supply. Through its partnership with NAITCO and its state affiliates, Tractor Supply developed a curriculum guide and awarded 120 schools in the country with a $500 grant to start or sustain a school garden program.

"Utah Agriculture in the Classroom is delighted to partner with Tractor Supply in bringing the Dig It program to Utah schools," said Denise Stewardson, AITC director. "The benefits to students who participate in garden-centered learning environments are numerous, both inside and outside the classroom. Also, gardening experiences provide unique opportunities for teachers to contextualize science, social studies and nutrition standards using engaging, interactive learning. Utah AITC is excited to support the Dig It program and witness its positive impacts on Utah students."

The Dig It lesson plans support what a majority of Americans believe to be beneficial when it comes to classroom learning. A recent survey of 1,000 Americans commissioned by Tractor Supply found that 75 percent believe hands-on learning is more effective than memorization; 96 percent believe hands-on learning activities help children have a more positive attitude toward learning; and 50 percent believe today's children know the same or less about sustainable living compared to 10 years ago.

"There's something so important about getting kids outside of the traditional classroom setting and allowing them to use their hands and minds in a different way," said Jessica Holmes, store marketing manager at Tractor Supply and creator of the program. "The value of a program like Dig It was reinforced by its success in New York and Tennessee, and we're extremely excited to watch it grow in Utah, California and Pennsylvania."

Participating schools in Utah include: Lapoint Elementary, Uintah County; Athenian eAcademy, Sanpete County; Hurricane Elementary, Washington County; North Summit Elementary, Summit County; Cleveland Elementary, Emery County; River Heights Elementary, Cache County; Ashman Elementary, Sevier County; Thunder Ridge Elementary, Utah County; Excelsior Academy, Tooele County; Valley View Elementary, Weber County; and Odyssey Elementary, Davis County.

NAITCO is made up of AITC programs in 48 states and six territories. Its mission is to educate teachers and students in kindergarten through 12th grade about the importance of agriculture by providing materials and programs that use agricultural concepts to teach reading, writing, math, science, social studies and more.

For additional educational resources, visit http://utah.agclassroom.org/.

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USU Agriculture in the Classroom partners to provide school garden program

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Students in 11 elementary schools in Utah will have the opportunity to strengthen their understanding of where food comes from by participating in a hands-on school gardening program, thanks to a grant from Tractor Supply, the nation's largest rural lifestyle retailer.

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Food Tank, in collaboration with GFAR, has compiled an exciting list of organizations working with young people around the world to make agriculture cool again.

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The Story of Agriculture and the Green Economy