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Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom
January, 2010
People in almost every country in the world celebrate the first day of the new year with special customs and traditions meant to bring good luck. More about New Year Customs, with P.A.S.S.-aligned activities...
A Garden in the Mailbox
In the gloomiest days of winter, beautiful flowers bloom and scrumptious vegetables grow in the mailboxes of gardeners all across the country. Mail order seed companies send out their new catalogs beginning in January. More about seed catalogs with links to old seed catalog art and more...
Soup of the Evening, Beautiful Soup
by Lewis Carroll, from Alice in Wonderland
Beautiful Soup, so rich and green,
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Beautiful Soup! Who cares for fish,
Game, or any other dish?
Who would not give all else for two
Pennyworth only of Beautiful Soup?
Pennyworth only of beautiful Soup?
January is National Soup Month. In early times soup was called "pottage" (from pot and the Latin potare, to drink). Read more, with link to soup lesson...
January is Wheat Bread Month: Time to Make Bread in a Bag
Sheep and Lambs
I love my old wood floors, but this time of year they are c-c-c-cold. Wool rugs and wool socks help warm cold mornings. Wool provides great protection against the cold because it doesn't freeze when it gets wet. Sheep have grazed in Oklahoma pastures at least since statehood, and sheep and lambs ranked 16th among all Oklahoma agricultural commodities in 2008.
Sheep have a 270-degree radius of view, almost 3/4 of a circle. Humans only see 170 degrees at best. More about sheep and lambs, with P.A.S.S.-aligned lessons and activities...
People live in warm houses and wear heavy coats outside in winter. We find plenty of food at the grocery store. But what happens to the animals?
A Hidden Beauty: Bulbs
It may be cold and dreary outside, but students can grow beautiful flowers indoors from bulbs. Narcissus and amaryllis are the simplest and are usually available this time of year, maybe even on sale. In this lesson students learn about bulbs and construct a model of a plant that grows from a bulb.
Snowball Fight
In this lesson students learn how snow helps crops grow while playing a game using facts and words about snow.
Look for OAITC at these events during January
8-9—Enid Farm Show
13—McCloud Elementary Workshop
18-Gore School Workshop
21-22—Noble Foundation Teacher Conference, Ardmore
27—National Soybean Conference, OSU, Stillwater
When the Power Came On
Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb in 1879, and his company started generating power in 1882, but electricity did not reach all the farms of Oklahoma until the mid 1940s. Read more...
Hundreds Day
Celebrate the hundredth day of the school year. P.A.S.S.-aligned counting lesson and activities...
Oklahoma Vegetable of the Month - Winter Squash
Oklahoma Fruit of Month - Dried Apricots
January 10 is Plough Sunday
Plough Sunday is a traditional English celebration of the beginning of the agricultural year. Plough Sunday celebrations usually involve bringing a ploughshare into a church with prayers for the blessing of the land. It is traditionally held on the Sunday after Epiphany, the Sunday between January 7 and January 13. Work in the fields began the day after Plough Sunday, on Plough Monday.
Traditionally the stubbles were left after harvest to feed and fatten up poultry and geese for Michaelmas, which marked the end, and the start of the farming year.
As most of the cereal crops grown were sown in the spring, ploughing did not start until after the Christmas festivities in January and February, giving time for the frost to break down the soil prior to sowing in March or April.
Red Dirt Groundbreaker: John Kroutil, Yukon Miller
Writing Prompts
January Books
Ag in Art
Shepherd With a Flock of Sheep: Vincent Van Gogh, 1884
Discussion Questions and Activities
Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom is a program of the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and the Oklahoma State Department of Education.