October 11-13th the Madera FFA chapter hosted their annual Ag Literacy Days. Throughout the 3 days over 1,600 preschool through 1st graders from the Madera Unified School District come to the Madera South School Farm to learn about the importance of agriculture in their lives. Madera FFA members work together to create stations that teach students about agriculture in different ways. The day starts with a hay ride from their bus to the farm. They then follow their group leader to one of four stations. The first is Oranges Journey, where they learn about how Madera FFA grows the oranges that they eat with their lunch. When they get to the station, the students are handed the Orange Journey coloring book, written by the Ag Leadership class, so they can color while listening to the story. Then they move to the Fun Zone and learn about agriculture through play. In the third station, the groups learn how to grow food and plant a pumpkin seed to take home and grow. The last station is the petting zoo. Here students learn how to handle different animals found on farms. Before leaving the students visit the pumpkin patch and pick out a pumpkin to take home. For many students, this is their first look into the agriculture industry and we strive to make sure it is a fun experience for them as well as the FFA members who work the event.
