June Dairy Month Trifecta at the Library

Lucky me. Today I hit the trifecta.

This morning I read to 93 kids and parents at Pleasant Hill Library in Hastings, Minnesota.

What's the trifecta? Reading, teaching, and cows; it's a win-win-win!

Happy June Dairy Month!

Today I began by reading The Cows Are in the Corn by James Young. This story tells how a family works together to take care of making sure all the farm animals are where they should be. I then shared about my family- what we do on our farm, and also about our jobs off the farm.

Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?  written by Dr. Seuss gives me the opportunity to share what kind of animals we have on our dairy farm (it's cows and cats). I showed what cows and calves eat. We also talked about where our cows live. The kids enjoyed counting by 10's so they could discover we have 130 cows that we milk twice each day.

The Flea's Sneeze by Karla Firehammer is a perfect introduction to how we work to keep our animals healthy and comfortable. Healthy and happy cows give lots of milk. I showed the steps we go through to keep them healthy so our cows milk can get to their grocery store in just 48 hours!

The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson is the perfect book to read so I can talk about delicious milk and all the other great dairy foods! These smart kids could tell me lots of yummy foods they like that are made from milk.

Of course everyone (moms and dads too) left the library with a goodie bag and a cow hat. Thanks to the Dakota County Library for inviting me to talk about my cows during June Dairy Month. See you all next June for another trifecta!

L Is For Library

I'm taking you on a journey from A to Z throughout June Dairy Month.

So come on in...the barn doors are open!

  L Is For Library

 

I am often asked to speak to groups about the workings of our dairy farm and the importance of dairy foods in our diet each day. One of my favorite "gigs" is speaking at our local library each June for dairy month.

I show lots of pictures of our farm, lots of samples of what we feed our cows, and I even talk about what happens when our cows get sick.

Since dairy farming and reading are some of my favorite things, (and raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens..thank you Sound Of Music) I love to read-aloud too. This day I read Moo! by David LaRochelle, The Cows Are in the Corn by James Young, and Cows Can't Fly by David Milgrim to my audience of 90+ kiddos!

We talk a lot about all the yummy things made with milk, and of course I always leave time for questions...

and hand out dairy goodie bags and string cheese to everyone that visits my library presentations- kids, moms, dads, grandparents too. They all leave with a bag of goodies.

This year I also left something for the library to keep. I donated two copies of The Dairy Good Cookbook for library visitors to check out. Besides yummy recipes it also shares stories and pictures of dairy farms all over America.

Janet with Librarian Barbara.

Here's your chance to enjoy The Dairy Good Cookbook. Visit G Is For Giveaway

for a chance to win your very own copy. I promise you'll love the cookbook! 

You may also want to read my previous years post for June Dairy Month...

L Is For Lactose Intolerance 

S Is For Stories

It's June dairy Month! The barn doors are open, 

so join me on my daily A to Z journey 

to learn more about dairy. 

  Today S Is For Stories

 

 

In celebration of June Dairy Month, our local public library invited me to read my favorite cow books during Preschool Story Time. Wednesday morning 51 preschoolers, some big brothers and sisters, oodles of mommies, and even a few grandpas came to hear my cow tails tales.

Now, what to read? I am a collector of cow and farm themed books. It took much effort to narrow down the ones that I talked about. After a brief overview of my favorites, I began by reading Out and About at the Dairy Farm.

I like this book as it takes us along with a group of school kids who go on a field trip to a dairy farm.

 

 

After learning how milk goes from the farm to the grocery store, we learned that we need three servings of dairy every day to stay healthy. This seemed like a moo-velous time to talk about what can be made from all that milk. We played a game trying to name all the dairy foods we could think of. And nope, potatoes are not a dairy food. Neither is noodles, in case you weren't sure. 

 

 

After sharing what our cows do, eat, and how they are milked, it was time to read Dooby Dooby Moo! I LOVE this book! Have you read it? It's an udderly goofy book about the animals on Farmer Brown's farm who think they should enter the talent contest at the County Fair to win the grand prize. Can you guess what the prize is? BOING! BOING!

  

 

 

 

Look who I invited to join us. It's Gabriella, Dakota County Dairy Princess,

with mommies Melissa and Michelle and their sons! Gabriella helped me hand out goodie bags to the kids, and treat bags to the mom's and the grandpa's too! Everyone left the library with a cheese stick to munch on the way home. Three servings of dairy every day...1 down, 2 to go!

 

 

 Check out some of my other visits with wee ones-

 

Back To School 

 

Farm 2 School 

 

 

 

 

 

This And That Thursday -14

A little bit of this and a little bit of that- here's what we've been up to. 

Sara's butterhead, (on right)

Perhaps it's the bitterly cold weather today (-36 degree wind chill right now) or the fact that daughter Sara's friend just sent her this link, 20 Facts About the Minnesota State Fair That Might Shock You but I'm thinking about the Minnesota State Fair today. Check out shocking fact number 8, and while you're there how about numbers 4 and 7? Way to go Minnesota Dairy Farmers!

Some of my cow library.

Another warm weather story...I have been contacted by our local library to be a guest reader and presenter in June! Yes, June! Those librarians are pretty organized and are already preparing the summer schedule. Since June is Dairy Month, I'll be featured. Does anyone have a favorite farm/cow/dairy book to recommend?

DairyMom's 2012

Great  news- I have again been invited to serve as a mentor at the Midwest Dairy Dairy Moms Social Media workshop next month. This workshop is where I got my start in blogging back in 2012. Kansas City here I come!

More great news- My mom returned to her home this week! After 3 months in the hospital and transitional care she, and all of our family, are VERY HAPPY!

R Is For Reading

I'm taking you on a journey from A to Z through the land of dairy! 

There's no need to pack your bags, just come along!

  R Is For Reading

I love to read. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why I enjoy my off-the-farm job as an Instructional Assistant in reading and math at one of our local elementary schools. My love of reading might also be the reason for me sharing some of my favorite "cow" books whenever I can. This spring I contacted my local public library asking if I could read my cow books at the story times during June Dairy Month. I goofed! Who knew that the schedule was made out 6 months, to a year, ahead? Well I do now, and you can bet I am already on the schedule for June, 2014!

Here are some of my favorites-

Millie waits for the Mail by Alexander Steffensmeier  

Millie is unlike most other cows. She chews her cud and grazes in the fields with the others, but she doesn't enjoy that nearly as much as she loves scaring the mail carrier. It's too bad the mail carrier doesn't have as much fun each time Millie comes up with a new way to surprise him. 

 

 

Cows Can't Fly by David Milgrim 

Ms. Crumb said cows were far too fat; that facts were facts and that was that. But this little boy doesn't care about facts. All he knows is that he drew a picture of some cows, and when a breeze blows it into the air, he sees cows flying everywhere. And if cows can fly, isn't anything possible?

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin

Farmer Brown is used to all the sounds he hears on his farm. The clucks of the chickens, the quacks of the ducks, and the loud moos of the cows. Then one morning, a sound rings through the fields: Click, clack moo. It seems that his cows have begun to type on the old typewriter. Not only that, they have also typed a request. 




Do you have a favorite cow or farm book? I'm always looking for new stories to add to my collection. After all, I have until June 2014 to add to my library!

Learn more about dairy at Dairy Makes Sense

 
I am making a commitment to share as much as I can with you each day this month, about the life of our dairy farm family including what we do, how we share our passion for dairy, and dairy foods we enjoy.

 See you here tomorrow...S Is For Smoothies

When Cows Fly

I love to read; anything and everything, but my favorite books to share are about cows and farming.

"Help Wanted. Full-Time Cow. Experience Desirable. Apply In Person."

These lines are from one of my favorite childrens book, The Cow Who Wouldn't Come Down by Paul Brett Johnson. It tells the story of Gertrude, the flying cow, who reins in her ability to fly in order to keep her job as a milk cow.

When I'm not farming, my other job is teaching reading and math at our local elementary school to students that need a little extra help. I love this opportunity, but I also love Summer vacation as much as the students do. My hope is that the kids don't vacation from reading. Parents please read to them, read with them, and let them see you reading. It is time well spent.

Now back to Gertrude. I have never seen our cows fly. I'd like to believe that if they could fly, they would still choose to live on our farm and provide us with the refreshing, delicious, beverage they are known for.

Milk, cookies, and a good book. Ah, summer.