When visitors walk into teacher Amanda Johnson’s kindergarten classroom at Herkimer Elementary School, they may at first be puzzled by the collection of photos adorning the walls.
Affixed to a large poster with black and white polka dots is photo after photo of a dairy cow, named Delilah.
Delilah, who lives on Stargo Dairy Farm three hours north of Herkimer in Malone, New York, is Johnson’s class cow.
“They (the kids) are very excited to have a class cow, they call her our class pet,” said Johnson. “We have pictures of her up on the wall and they love looking at the pictures and they’re really excited every time we get a new update about her.”
Johnson, a Herkimer native who began teaching in September, said she got the idea for adopting a class cow online and decided to apply through a program called Discover Dairy. The applications are free for teachers and once hers was accepted in October, the class began receiving photos and updates on Delilah every two months.
“Since we live in an area where dairy farms are prevalent, I thought it would be a great idea to teach the kids about dairy farming,” Johnson said.
According to Discover Dairy’s website, the updates tell classrooms the cow’s name, birthday, farm and the many ways in which their farmer takes care of them. The program also includes a presentation and lesson plan on dairy farming. In between the photo and status updates, the students are also sent cow-related coloring sheets, journal prompts and journal sheets every two weeks.
Delilah has clearly been a hit with Johnson’s students.
“That picture is so cute of her drinking the bottle,” says kindergartener Wynter Werner. “And I love her name, Delilah.”
Wynter’s classmate, Aubrienna Claridy, likes Delilah’s name too. Another student, Cole Nasypany, points out his grandfather owns two cows as well.
Johnson says Delilah has helped teach her students not only about the career of dairy farming, but has also helped them understand the size of New York state.
“I think they’ve learned more about where we are in New York,” said Johnson. “Our cow is about three hours away from us, so it’s given them an understanding of, ‘We live in this big area, and New York is a big state.'”
The long drive means it’s unlikely Johnson’s students will get to meet Delilah in person, but she didn’t disqualify the idea of a field trip to meet other cows.
“Hopefully we can take them to a more local dairy farm this year,” said Johnson.
Meet Delilah, the Malone NY dairy cow adopted by a Herkimer … – The Times Telegram
