Ag In the Classroom @ Franklin Central School Update

Elementary ag students at Franklin have been very busy! We started the final quarter of the school year, and we are so excited to say that every student at Franklin Central School in grade UPK up through sixth grade has been involved in an agriculture class, that is truly incredible.

We dove head first into embryology; we are currently running two incubators in the classroom that are filled with duck and peacock eggs. We were successfully able to hatch both chickens and turkeys in the classroom. Students have enjoyed candling the eggs each week throughout development to see how growth has progressed. We are so excited for the eggs to hatch!

Students have helped setup an aquaponics unit in our classroom. Students studied the different ways plants can grow, and one of those ways is hydroponics. We decided to add in aquaculture; in our system the fish waste is used as a nutrient to grow healthy plants. We plan to grow enough lettuce to provide to the cafeteria for salad bar lunch later this spring.

We also have been learning about greenhouses, and sixth grade students are producing greenhouse models using corrugated plastic! We have enjoyed helping the high school students build the new greenhouse for the school garden. We made miniature hydroponic systems using recycled bottles and we are growing pansies!

Students in pre-kindergarten through second grade are learning about the dairy industry. We have made butter and learned about the diet of a cow. Sixth grade students are going to participate in NY Ag in the Classroom's "Ice Cream Challenge" in the upcoming month; they are so excited to get to create the recipe and then taste test to pick which recipe is the best.

We were able to go on two different field trips in early spring, 5th grade students learned about maple production in the classroom setting, so what better way to get hands-on experience than to go to a sugarhouse! We toured Off Road Maple in Franklin; we got to see the Jordan's evaporator and then go to their maple barn where the students each made maple cream themselves to taste test. We concluded this unit by learning about value added products by making maple cotton candy, creating a hypothetical business plan, and deciding how the product would best be marketed. The kindergarten and third grade students got to visit a goat farm, we got to see what daily life is like taking care of goats. The students had a great time seeing all the baby goats!

Last updated June 2, 2026