| | |
November 2025 | Issue #170
*make sure to click "View entire message" to get access to the full newsletter!*
| |
| |
| |
Save the date! The Northeast Livestock Expo (NELE) Kids Day returns to the Windsor Fairgrounds on Friday, May 15, 2026.
A full day field trip experience for grades K-4, NELE Kids Day offers students the opportunity to interact with over 30 agricultural exhibits and commodities that they may not otherwise have access to.
Busing is reimbursable for schools within a 60 mile radius. Registration will open in December and is limited to 2500 students, so be sure to watch your inbox for more information!
| |
Partner Highlight: American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture
The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture is one of Maine Agriculture in the Classroom’s valued national partners, dedicated to increasing agricultural literacy across the country. Their collection of classroom resources helps educators connect students to the people, processes, and science behind the food we eat and the fibers we use every day.
Teachers can explore activities by grade level, length, scenario, price, or type and see what the American Farm Bureau Foundation has to offer in books, Ag Mags, activities, e-learning modules, and more! There are many engaging options, from hands-on challenges and interactive digital games, to read-aloud books and career exploration lessons.
Discover these and many other teaching tools at www.agfoundation.org.
| |
| |
Thank you to our hosts at Central Lincoln County YMCA and Great Salt Bay Community School, as well as the wonderful group of educators who joined us for our recent professional development workshop. Participants were treated to free curriculum, resources, and presentations related to the YMCA F.A.R.M.S program, Maine's rich fiber history, using grains in the classroom, and more!
Looking to bring agriculture PD to your school or district? We can help! Don't forget - we serve the full K-12 population and love to bring new ideas of how to use agriculture to accomplish classroom objectives. Email us to see how we can support your next in-house PD day.
And if you missed us this Fall, stay tuned for our Spring workshop schedule! We're more excited than ever for all the fun things we have coming your way.
| | |
Above: Great Salt Bay Agriculture Educator Hedda Scribner lead workshop participants through the school orchard and garden before convening in the greenhouse and yurt to wrap up the afternoon.
Left: MAITC Program Assistant Marcia Martin presented on Maine's fiber history and how to use weaving to get students involved in the classroom.
| | |
Grades 3-5
A Rafter of Turkeys
Students will investigate the domestication and life cycle of the turkey, discover how turkeys are raised on farms, and identify turkey products.
| | |
Grades 6-8
Inherited Traits in the
Living Corn Necklace
Students will observe the growth of Indian corn and popcorn seeds, observe similarities and differences between the two varieties, and discuss heredity.
| | |
Grades 9-12
The Geography of Thanksgiving Dinner
Students will identify common Thanksgiving foods and their farm source, determine if those foods can be produced locally, and locate the common origins of their Thanksgiving day dinner.
| | Looking for more? Explore the Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix HERE | | From the cranberry bog to the Thanksgiving table, join Sam and his family as they harvest a classic American fruit. When the vines hang heavy with berries that the autumn winds have turned deep red, it's time for cranberries, and Sam is finally old enough to help with the harvest! This charming, lyrical picture book follows Sam and his family as they raise the water in the bog, pick the cranberries, and gather the fruit for processing. It's a story of modern family farming in action, showing readers where their food comes from but mostly delighting them along the way. This book is a great companion to lessons on farming, harvesting, use of machines, Thanksgiving, or cranberries. | |  | There are a lot of jobs to do on the family farm! Presley and her farm family work on planting corn, watching for pests, monitoring rainfall so plants get the right amount of water, harvesting the corn, exploring how corn is used in many products, and learning how to be more sustainable farmers. | | | |
Funding from this plate impacts up to 200,000 students annually with lessons, materials, volunteers and teacher training. Additionally, up to $60K is distributed annually in grants to schools, FFA, 4-H and other Non-profit programs for Ag education initiatives by the Maine Agriculture in the Classroom Council.
Learn more about the Ag plate here.
| | | |
|
The MAITC Association is organizing a fundraiser for materials and teacher scholarships this year. Hats and T-shirts with the MAITC logo and a picture of the agriculture specialty license plate are available to order for a small donation.
For more information contact Nancy Wright at dnwright191@gmail.com
| | |
Our Mission Statement
"To promote the understanding of agriculture and natural resources among students, educators, and the general public"
| | | |
28 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333
(207)287-5522
| |
| | | |
