Planting SeedsAg Day is the Best Day of the Year
My favorite day of the year is Ag Day. Luckily for us in Cook County, we have two Ag Days!
Ag Day North, held at Historic Wagner Farm in Glenview, and Ag Day South, held at The Children’s Farm in Palos Park, are two-hour field trips for Cook County third grade students.
What do I love most about the day? Everything! I love the excitement of the students as they run off their yellow bus, happy to be on a field trip away from their school. I love the joy on their faces as they get to pet a horse, hold a chicken, or stand next to a tractor for the first time. I love the questions they ask, eager to learn more about a new subject. I love the teachers’ and chaperones’ big eyes and looks of astonishment as they learn something new about agriculture as adults. I love how the students groan and complain as they have to file back onto their school bus because they don’t want to leave.
However, what I love most of all about Ag Day is receiving the evaluation forms back in the mail from the schools, with each student listing two things they learned and a drawing of their experience.
Last year, feedback from teachers included:
- The ag field trip is so wonderful – an amazing experience for all who attend. For the majority of our students, this was their 1st time at a farm.
- My students always find this field trip to be amazing because of the live animals and hands-on instruction – it is unbelievable how excited they are when they leave!!!
- It was so nice to get our students interested in IL agriculture. Our students learned a lot!
- This field trip touches on topics not all curricula do. It is an excellent real-world application of knowledge!
- As city children, learning about farm animals and how to care for them, and about the resources we get from them was invaluable to their education.
Feedback from students included:
- Best field trip ever!!!!!
- I had so much fun!
- I’m going to tell my family that agriculture is a lot of hard work.
- Agriculture is not just about animals.
- The cow went number 1 and number 2!
My favorite feedback was a student’s answer to the question, “What did you like best?” The answer: “The people.”
Ag Day is a reminder to me that we often take agricultural knowledge and experiences for granted. On Ag Day, students are able to do and see things that some adults may never have the chance to do: visit a working farm, ask a farmer questions, see farm animals, and yes – see a cow go number 1 and number 2.
Ag Day is everything I love about agriculture: education, real-life applications and perspectives, career opportunities, and fun on the farm. It’s always a lot of planning and organizing before the event, but when it’s over and my feet are tired and sore, I couldn’t be happier. I can sit back and relax knowing that students (and their adults!) learned about agriculture, they had fun, and they made memories that will last a lifetime. For me, that is what makes Ag Day the best day of the year.