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Our Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom (MAITC) Team is excited to share our focus area for March: fiber. Featured lessons, a virtual field trip, AgMag connections, and more will highlight the Minnesota raised sheep and yak that provide us with fiber. Plant based fibers, like cotton, are also part of the fun this month!
Visit our webpage featuring these monthly focus areas for more details.
 Join us for a virtual field trip to Clear Spring Yak Farm
When: Friday, March 17, 2023, 1 p.m.
What: Do you know what a yak is? Have you ever seen a baby yak? On this tour we will learn all about yaks with Melodee Smith from Clear Spring Farm. Students will discover how she takes care of the yak, why she raises yak, and how yak fiber is harvested to make yarn. This virtual field trip will last 30 minutes and is targeted to K-5 students.
This virtual field trip will also be streamed live on YouTube and a recording will be available for later viewing.
 Are you dreaming of summer? We are! This summer, MAITC is offering four in-person tour options. Summer Teacher Tours provide professional development for educators to dig-in to agriculture with exciting tours and experiences at farms, processing sites, research facilities, and more! Participants will receive a wealth of standards-based, agriculture-themed lesson plans and resources, as well as opportunities to network and share ideas with fellow K-12 educators.
Tour dates and details can be found on this website: https://mnagmag.org/teacher-tours/
Registration opens TOMORROW, March 15, 2023.
 If you've signed-up to receive AgMags for the 22-23 school year, the spring issues will be in your mailbox soon!
It's not too late to sign-up for this FREE resource. Visit the AgMag website to select and sign up for AgMag magazines for your students. The AgMag series features two grade-specific issues both in print and online for each K-6 grade level. Colorful images, interactive activities, and engaging non-fiction stories highlight the Minnesotans who provide our food, fuel, fiber, forest products, and flowers!
 Recently, a group of students from Cleveland High School took part in a Farm Camp day that took them to a Christensen Farm hog barn. The students are interested in veterinary studies as a potential career choice. They could not have been more excited after learning and experiencing so much in the hog barn.
What makes Farm Camp unique is students get to see, feel, touch, and smell through hands-on experiences. Each Farm Camp is a customized, immersive learning experience tailored to the classroom’s curriculum needs.
Please visit the Farm Camp website or email director@farmcampminnesota.org to learn more about Farm Camp. The program director does all the heavy lifting by setting up and coordinating the Farm Camp tours, which helps take the burden off of educators.
 The Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom Program and Foundation recognize that first-year teachers face a unique set of challenges as they begin their teaching career. To inspire early-career teachers to integrate agriculture into their K-12 curriculum, we are offering a grant program specifically for first-year teachers.
March Trivia Question: What is the name of the natural oil that is found in sheep's wool? HINT: It is used in lotion and cosmetics
Send your answer to sue.knott@state.mn.us. The first two people to respond with the correct answer will win a copy of "If You Want to Knit Some Mittens" by Laura Purdie Salas.
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