Welcome to Our Foods and Food Production Course

More About Our Foods and Food Production Course

In this course you will learn about seeds, plants, gardening, fruits, vegetables, food production, and other food-related facts and then spend time learning about twenty-six foods and how their plants grow, how they are harvested, how they are processed, and where they grow. Students can spend time preparing a recipe or two using the food being studied.

Course Sample for Our Foods and Food Production Course

Almonds

INTRODUCTION QUESTIONS

• How much do you know about almonds?
• How do almonds grow?
• What can be made with almonds?
• Are almonds mentioned in the Bible?
• What do you want to know about almonds?

VIDEOS ABOUT ALMONDS

• Watch Time Lapse Photography-Sprouting Almond. (:45)

This is a time-lapse video showing an almond tree sprouting from the ground over the course of ten days and nights.

• Watch An Almond Story. (7:54)

Auntie Bee tells Little Bee about California Almond Country, which Auntie Bee calls “Bee Heaven.” She goes through the importance of the bees for pollination and the process of growing almonds. It includes cartoon characters and real video clips. (Additional note to parents: Little Bee does say “heck” twice in video around 45 seconds and 5:30.)

• Watch Orchard to Table: Almond Life Cycle. (2:48)

This is a quick video about the process of growing almonds throughout the year.

• Watch Blue Diamond Growers 2014 Plant Tour. (22:37)

This is a very detailed video that shows the outside process of almonds as well as an inside tour of Blue Diamond factory. It has interviews of some employees of Blue Diamond, history of Blue Diamond, interesting questions and answers about almonds, and discusses the variety of foods almonds can be used in. Since the video was done by Blue Diamond, it does advertise Blue Diamond.

READING ABOUT ALMONDS

• Read Genesis 43:11, Exodus 25:33, Exodus 37:19, and Numbers 17:8.
• Read An Almond Story from Learn About Ag.*

This is a 24-page activity book that can be completed once printed. It offers information about the history of almonds, pollination, almond production, almond life cycle, parts of an almond, vocabulary words, and more. It also includes three recipe cards. An Almond Story is intended for grades 3-5; however, it has pictures little ones can color and a lot of educational information appropriate for all ages.

(Additional note to parents: I prefer to emphasize God’s Creation instead of personifying Mother Nature, so I wanted you to be aware that page 4 states “Mother Nature and Why Almond Trees Can’t Live Without Her.” Beyond the title, this page does a good job discussing things in creation almond trees need such as sunlight, water, nutrients, and soil.)

• Read pages 33-36 entitled Answers to Commonly Asked Questions in An Almond Story Teacher Guide from Learn About Ag.

GEOGRAPHY OF ALMONDS

• Complete page 18 in An Almond Story if you haven’t already.
• Color Australia, Chile, Spain, Italy, United States, Iran, Greece, Morocco, Turkey, and Tunisia on your printed world map, Eastern Hemisphere map, and Western Hemisphere map. These are the top ten almond-producing countries according to Learn About Ag.
• Read pages 25-26 entitled Almonds Across the World in An Almond Story Teacher Guide.
• Color California on your printed United States map.
• See how many country flags you know by matching the names of the countries that produce almonds with their flags on the Country Flag Match worksheet. If you don’t know them all, you can study the answers and then try again.

PRODUCTS MADE WITH ALMONDS

• Read the section entitled “Culinary Uses” found on Kiddle Encyclopedia under Almond Facts for Kids.

ALMOND RECIPES TO TRY

• Vanilla Cinnamon Candied Almonds from Chunky Chef
  Ingredients needed: brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, salt, ground ginger, egg white, and raw almonds.
• Homemade Almond Milk from The Kitchn (includes video demonstration)
  Ingredients needed: raw almonds, water, optional sweetener such as honey, sugar, or maple syrup

CLOSING QUESTIONS

• What is something you learned about almonds?
• What fact about almonds do you think is the most interesting?
• Were you able to find answers to the introduction questions?
• Do you have any questions about almonds that weren’t answered?

To view a full sample of this course, click here.