NEWS RELEASE – PREPARED BY Abrianne Holler, Ag in the Classroom Community Worker, Marshall-Putnam Extension Office UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS EXTENSION – Bureau, LaSalle, Marshall, Putnam Unit
University of Illinois Extension Marshall-Putnam Agriculture in the Classroom Program and the Marshall-Putnam Farm Bureau, collaborated to provide Ag-Bag lessons to school classrooms.
Due to the Stay at Home Order, students are not able to participate in their regular “Ag in the Classroom” lessons. Abrianne Holler, University of Illinois Extension Ag in the Classroom Community Worker, and Tiffany Moody, Executive Director of the Marshall-Putnam Farm Bureau, provided four different lessons focusing on agriculture for students who pick up a weekly lunch at school. “Let’s Grow at Home” was the first Ag-Bag. In this bag, students were given pots, seeds, magnifying glass or ruler, along with a way to mark their plants. A brief lesson about plants was enclosed with the supplies including a germination journal to keep track of what they did each day with the plant. “Let’s Get Poppin’” lesson was based on the Illinois state snack: POPCORN! Each bag had popcorn facts, a small bag of popcorn, and a popcorn craft. “Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?” lesson was focused on the embryology project most students would have experienced first-hand in the classrooms with Extension’s incubator project. This bag included a snack that was made to look like a chicken, chicken activities, and 4-H resources to watch chicks hatch online. The fourth Ag-Bag was “Calling all Conservation Superheroes”. This bag was focused towards Earth Day which is coming up on April 22. The lesson focused on resources on how to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
University of Illinois Extension Ag in the Classroom and the Marshall-Putnam Farm Bureau will continue to work together to support students, teachers, schools and parents, with the Ag-Bags and to provide experiential lessons highlighting the importance of agriculture.
For more information or questions, contact Abrianne Holler, Ag in the Classroom Community Worker with University of Illinois Extension Marshall-Putnam Office at 815-224-0889 or by email at anholler@illinois.edu The Marshall-Putnam Extension Office is located at 509 Front Street in Henry.
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If you have questions or need more information please call University of Illinois Extension- Bureau, LaSalle, Marshall, Putnam Unit Office at 815-224-0889. Extension offices are located in Princeton, Ottawa, Henry and in Oglesby on the IVCC campus.