Ashley VandenBush is ready to welcome a new group of students to her classroom. The third-grade teacher is also prepared for the first question she’ll receive.
“What’s our cow’s name going to be?”
VandenBush is an instructor at Father Allouez Catholic School in Green Bay. Through “Adopt a Cow” with the Center for Dairy Excellence, and several other farm programs, she is giving her students something they might not otherwise experience in class: a connection to Wisconsin agriculture.
“I kind of want to just dive in right away,” VandenBush said. “But I know I have to be patient.”
For a teacher who didn’t grow up on a farm, that enthusiasm is especially meaningful.
Listen to Teri Barr’s story about Ashley VandenBush bringing ag to her classroom here:
She had to become a student first
VandenBush describes her childhood as urban — not agricultural.
But ag found its way into her life as a student teacher in 2012. It’s when VandenBush noticed something was missing. Wisconsin agriculture and its history were being covered in less than a week.
She knew there had to be more.
Her mother suggested Wisconsin Ag in the Classroom as a possible resource. It gave VandenBush her first opportunity to visit some Brown County farms.
“I didn’t know anything about dairy farms,” she said.
So she learned. And then VandenBush started bringing that education to her students. The goal was simple. She wanted to help kids understand that the food they see in a grocery store has a story behind it — and farmers are at the beginning of that story.
Meet the classroom cow
One of the first and most popular experiences she added to her lessons is the “Adopt a Cow” program. Students follow the life of a real calf on a Wisconsin farm. They learn how it’s cared for and how milk makes its way from the farm to consumers.
The class even got to name its first calf. Their choice?
Millie.
Millie’s part of the Brickstead Dairy herd in Greenleaf. The students received regular updates about her. And while the connection stuck, it also came with a lot of questions. The kids wanted to know how farmers could possibly keep track of all those cows.
How do they know which cow is which?
How do they take care of them?
And when VandenBush doesn’t know the answer, she turns to the expert. She emails “Farmer Dan” at Brickstead Dairy.
“He’ll respond and I’ll say to my students, ‘Hey, look, I didn’t know this, but here’s what Farmer Dan tells me,’” she explained.
That’s agriculture education with a real farmer on the other end of the lesson.
Then came the chickens
If the classroom cow gets kids excited, the chickens take things to another level. VandenBush began raising chickens after someone suggested she could bring this particular project right into her classroom.
Her first response?
“I have no clue about chickens.”
So, naturally, she started researching. VandenBush found a reliable breeder and learned how to incubate the eggs.
Four chicks hatched: Cinnamon, Waffles, Peanut, and Miracle.
Miracle struggled to get out of her shell, so VandenBush called a veterinarian, who warned that the chick might not survive. She did, but then Miracle developed a condition that made it difficult for her to walk. The kids weren’t ready to give up.
“Never thought that these kids would skip recess to help a little chick learn how to walk properly,” VandenBush said.
And by the end of the week, Miracle was getting stronger. That little chick changed the project.
VandenBush decided to keep the chickens, even getting her students involved in writing persuasive letters to her husband, explaining why the birds should stay with them during the summer months. He agreed.
Eventually, the four chickens became nine.
And then they made their way to the Brown County Fair.
From the classroom to a county fair project
VandenBush saw another hands-on opportunity for her students. And this year, eight of them took the chickens to the Brown County Fair, including five who had never even attended the fair before.
Two third-graders now want to take the next step and learn junior showmanship. Once again, VandenBush is learning right alongside them. She’s never been through showmanship herself, so she reached out to 4-H leaders and other groups for advice. She even asked experienced young exhibitors to help give her students some confidence. And the kids are hooked.
Some are already talking about raising other animals.
Vanden Bush responsed, “Whoa, whoa, let’s just get through one school year at a time.”
Agriculture doesn’t stay inside the classroom
The agriculture education doesn’t stop when the school bell rings.
VandenBush takes her lessons into classes throughout the Green Bay School District, the YMCA, and the area Boys & Girls Clubs. She teaches kids about everything from cows and milk to cheese. In one activity, students pretend to be cows and learn about the milk, then follow the journey as its transported to a milk or cheese factory, and eventually the store.
Sometimes, the lesson ends with a taste test.
It’s how her students discovered there is a lot more to cheese than just mozzarella and cheddar. VandenBush connects with local cheese makers to introduce the kids to different varieties and flavors. Some have even discovered a new favorite. Goat cheese.
“I never thought that a lot of the kids would like so many different cheeses,” she said. “And even a taco cheddar or guacamole cheddar!”
But they do. And suddenly, agriculture isn’t an abstract concept. It’s something they can taste, see, touch, and experience.
Even math is an agriculture lesson
VandenBush has also figured out how to weave agriculture into subjects that might not seem connected to farming.
Her students have designed projects involving fences for chickens and cattle. They’ve learned about barn quilts while studying area and perimeter. She’s brought in a tractor tire — the kind farmers use to help cover cattle feed. And she plans to keep finding new ways to connect agriculture with the rest of the curriculum.
“On farms, everyone has to work together. We want to help each other out,” she said. “That’s an important lesson, whether you’re on a farm or in a third-grade classroom.”
You don’t have to grow up on a farm
Perhaps the most important part of this story is — she didn’t grow up knowing all of this. She learned. She asked questions. She found farmers and agriculture organizations willing to teach her. Then she turned around and shared that knowledge with her students.
And she wants other teachers to know they can do the same thing, starting with their local or county agriculture organizations.
“You will get the help you need,” she said.
VandenBush credits the Brown County Dairy Promotions group for initially helping her learn about agriculture and supporting her opportunity to share it.
As a new school year begins, she knows her students will be ready. They’ll want to meet their new classroom cow and hatch more chicks. They’re probably even ready to taste new cheeses. And if the past year is any indication, they’re probably already thinking about what animal they can show at the fair next summer.
For Vanden Busch, that’s the real payoff.
Give someone a chance to experience agriculture. And whether adults or kids, they just might discover — they love it.
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