Kingsley second graders in Mr. Ron Bowers classroom learned a little bit about history, English, science, social-emotional learning and art during their recent agriculture unit. The students studied 1800s American history and read books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. They enjoyed learning how pioneers made many resources from scratch, including butter.
“It’s fun to learn about what it was like to live back then,” said Noelle, a second grader. “I like history because I can learn about the past.”
The classroom took their learning to the next level when Mr. Bowers won a “Using Agriculture in the Classroom” grant from the DuPage County Farm Bureau. He used the grant to purchase a butter churn, authentically modeled after the old Dazey churns.
Together with his class, the students took turns using the churn to make homemade butter from cream! Meanwhile, their classmates completed assignments related to the scientific properties of cream/butter, nutrition and history. The photos show the butter-making in action!