Planting Seeds"Celebrating the Holidays with Ag Education"
In November, I led a virtual workshop for teachers to earn continuing education hours about agriculture’s connections to winter holidays. My portion of the workshop was one hour long, and at first, I worried about being able to find a topic or two to talk about for an hour.
I shouldn’t have worried! I easily found topics, probably enough for 10 hours and 10 workshops! After much deliberation, I chose to discuss the topics of Christmas trees, holiday spices, poinsettias, and beeswax. I loved being able to research and learn new things and then teach educators what I learned. The educators will then teach their students, and I was able to multiply my impact and broaden the scope of ag education.
For instance, did you know that more poinsettias are sold during the winter holidays than any other potted plant the rest of the year? Or that saffron is the world's most expensive spice? It can take 10,000 flowers or more to yield one pound, because the spice is the dried yellow stigma of crocus flowers. I also learned that Christmas trees are grown on farms in all 50 states and that 98% of Christmas trees are grown on farms and only 2% are cut from the wild.
I realized how little I knew about topics I thought I knew a lot about. It also made me realize that I have to do more reading!
At the beginning of the year, my goal was to read more books. Throughout the year, I have read dozens of books, visited my library more often, and began listening to audiobooks for the first time. This holiday season, I plan on curling up under a blanket and reading during the chilly evenings.
On Christmas Eve, December 24, in Iceland, there is the tradition of “Jólabókaflóð,” or the "Christmas Book Flood," where books are exchanged as gifts and people spend the night reading them, often with hot chocolate. Some of my family and friends aren’t readers, but I plan on giving some readable materials as gifts, such as magazines and calendars.
Illinois Ag in the Classroom’s Ag Mags make great stocking stuffers for all ages. The agricultural magazines come in a variety of topics and can be read online or printed as a PDF from www.agintheclassroom.com.
If you are interested in family-centered ag education, Cook County Farm Bureau has a new gift idea. Our Ag Book in a Box: An AITC Immersive Experience for Families includes “Sleep Tight Farm” by Eugenie Doyle, themed items, hands-on activities, crafts, and snacks. The box costs $25 if shipped, $20 if picked up from the farm bureau in Countryside. Boxes can be requested online at https://forms.gle/jGHeE2MUZEomxh1d6 or by calling our office at 708-354-3276.
For adults interested in reading, CCFB’s Zoom Book Club will be reading “Grocery: The Buying and Selling of Food in America.” The book club will meet at 6 p.m. virtually via Zoom Jan. 13 and 27 and Feb. 10 and 24. Register by January 2 by emailing [email protected]. There is no charge to join the book club for CCFB members, $10 for non-members.
I hope you enjoy reading and learning this holiday season. Don’t forget the hot cocoa!