BETHALTO - Students at Parkside Elementary School in Bethalto enjoyed a visit from a dairy cow.
On Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, the Mobile Dairy Classroom stopped by Parkside Elementary to teach kids about dairy farms. In addition to the 30-minute presentation, students could view a live dairy cow and milking demonstration.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
“It gives kids an experience that most of them are unlikely to ever get anywhere else,” explained Parkside Principal Aaron Kilpatrick. “We look to provide as many real-world learning opportunities as possible. Part of that learning is being able to make those real-world connections.”
This is the second year that the Mobile Dairy Classroom has stopped by Parkside Elementary. The initiative is sponsored by Southwest Dairy Farmers and Southland Dairy Farmers. Christy Halley, a third grade teacher at Parkside, organized the visit.
Kilpatrick said that many of the third grade teachers also participate in an adopt-a-calf program. This program allows each classroom to “adopt” a calf and receive updates from the dairy farmers throughout the cow’s life.
The third grade also learns about life cycles every year, and Kilpatrick said the Mobile Dairy Classroom demonstration provides an opportunity to learn about the life cycle of a dairy cow. He believes it’s important for students to connect their lessons with real-world examples like this.
He also pointed out that while each student comes from a different background, they all drink milk at lunchtime. The students can connect the lesson to their own lives by learning more about dairy cows and where milk comes from.
“It’s just one layer of this, what we’re trying to do here at Parkside,” he said. “The whole child is something that we focus on, making sure that we provide learning opportunities that are enriching and make connections to real-world applications. That’s a big part of what we do here, making sure that we’re not just teaching in a vacuum, that students are able to make those real-world connections, because that’s how authentic learning happens, when you’re able to make those connections to things you’ve experienced previously or the background knowledge you may have.”
While the Mobile Dairy Classroom offered several lessons, Kilpatrick said the students also had fun with the experience. He noted that Parkside Elementary School wants to make learning “memorable and fun,” and the Mobile Dairy Classroom was a prime example of this.
“How often is it that a live cow rolls up to your school?” he laughed. “It’s something that kids are going to remember, and that’s another part of what we try to do here at Parkside, make sure that learning is memorable. When students leave here, they have great memories of being at Parkside.”
More like this:
