| Agriculture Literacy Day
(2nd grade)
New York celebrates an Agriculture Literacy Day annually in April. The Rensselaer County Farm Bureau and a team of volunteers do a book reading and deliver school enrichment projects that relate to the chosen book for teachers to use in the classroom. The school enrichment projects fit directly into the NY Learning Standards. A different book is selected every year. For 2010, The Tree Farmer by Chuck and Nicolas Cravotta, was selected. The program is delivered in classrooms and takes roughly 30 minutes. At the conclusion of the workshop the book is donated to the respective school’s library. Contact us for a presentation to be delivered some day in the month of March. No Charge
Baby Think It Over/Empathy Belly (grades 9 to 12)
The Baby Think it Over Program provides students with a realistic
parenting simulation. Students are required to provide parenting to a
realistic baby model. The baby simulator then provides feedback on
rough handling, neglect and total minutes of crying. The Empathy Belly
Pregnancy Simulator allows students to experience twenty typical
symptoms of pregnancy. $50 Damage Deposit
Container Gardening (grades K to 4)
This program is offered annually which includes distribution of plants,
soil and a teacher training. Area growers provide the plants for
distribution. Request for participation in this program comes out in
April and the classroom plant distribution and teacher training take
place in early May. This is an opportunity for students to approach
learning the plant life cycle in a hands-on way. No Charge
Incubation and Embryology (grades K to 12)
This is a hands-on approach to presenting the life cycle from
fertilization to hatch. Assistance establishing an incubation setup in
the classroom including teaching materials, incubator, egg sources, and
technical support are part of this offering. Examples of classroom
activities - “Eggsploring the Egg” and “Building a Home ’Tweet' Home” Incubator Use Fee $20, Damage Deposit $10, In-depth Training $30
Pet Respect (grades K to 4)
Staff will meet with small groups of students on an appointment basis
and will talk about the concept of pets and their roles in our homes
and society. More importantly, going over basic safety to prevent harm
to students and pet, pet care and relating responsibility to not only
the pet but also your neighbors and community. Touching on the value
pets have in therapy for physical and emotional well being will be
demonstrated. Each (series of 6, about 20 minutes each) visit is
accompanied by a dog as the model of the pet. We branch out and talk
about different pets based on the classroom interest. Each student
will get an opportunity to work and interact one-on-one with the dog
during the session whether it is getting a chance to brush, walk or
toss the ball. $50 Speaker fee for series of 6 sessions.
ReCharge (grades K to 12)
This is a fun-packed interactive program teaching students about
nutrition and exercise put forth in terms of “Energy In (It’s what you
eat) and Energy Out (It’s what you do).” The program, developed by the NFL and Action for Healthy Kids,
includes a kit with 29 activities, footballs, cones, an instructional
DVD, food models and NFL ReCharge Cards. Appropriate for any after
school, health or physical education classroom. $30 speaker/training fee (including kit)
TeamWork TeamPlay (grades 5 to 12)
Teamwork is the concept of people working together cooperatively.
Through the use of Raccoon Circles, puzzles, and challenges, students
will develop skills that will work in real-life situations. Emphasis
will be placed on learning how to work in teams to accomplish a goal
while having fun at the same time. Students will discover how to
listen, question, persuade, help, share, and participate as part of a
successful, efficient team. $30 Speaker Fee |