Beef Farmer Math

In an effort to make math more interesting for kids and to make my kids understand that math really is important, I have started a series of Farmer Math questions to go along with the Flat Aggie reports.  These are patterned after the blog Bedtime Math.  Some of the questions are easy enough for pre-schoolers and sometimes I come up with some to even challenge high school seniors.

These questions follow the report Flat Aggie Visits Snowy Idaho.  Additional educational materials can be found in the post All About Beef from The Illinois Farm Girl.
Additional cattle math problems can be found: Cattle Farmer Math and Beef Cow Farmer Math.

1.)  The show heifer is fed 5 pounds of corn, 2 pounds of oats, 1 pound of soybean meal, 10 pounds of hay and 1/4 pound of minerals and vitamins.  How much feed is she fed in all?

2.)  Flat Aggie is helping vaccinate some bulls.  She needs enough vaccine for 15 bulls.  The dosage is 5 milliliters per bull.  How many milliliters are needed in all?

3.)  Flat Aggie has another vaccine that is 2 ml per bull.  To vaccinate 15 bulls, how many milliliters of this vaccine is needed?

4.)  The Malson Ranch in Utah gets eleven inches of rain each year.  What is the average amount of rain per month?  (Round to the nearest hundredth of an inch.)

5.)  Flat Aggie helped weigh 5 calves when they were born.  The weights in pounds were 90, 70, 60, 100, 80.  What was the average birth weight of the calves born?

ANSWERS: 1.) 18.25 pounds  2.) 75 ml  3.)  30 ml  4.)  .92 inches  5.)  80 pounds

If you are a teacher or homeschooler that would like more information to go with the Flat Aggie reports, send me a message on my contact form.  Along with the report and the Farmer Math questions, we send each teacher an additional page of activities, crossword puzzles and sometimes a few hands on activities.

-A Kansas Farm Mom
 

BBR- Buzz-Buzz, Busy Bees

A fun larger board book for parents to read to their little ones or for beginning readers is Buzz-Buzz Busy Bees by Dawn Bentley and illustrated by Heather Cahoon.

All over the farm animals are asking the bees to come play with them.  One by one the bees leave the pages saying they have work to do.  My kids always liked the bright illustrations and repetitive natures.

On the last page is a light sensor and when you open the page you hear the bees buzzing.  The kids finally learn what the bees were busy doing...making honey for the farmer.

We loved this simple, colorful book when both of the boys were younger. 


Looking for more about Honey and Bees?  Check out these resources online:

The Honey Files: A Bee's Life (Grades 4-6)
Bees are Amazing
Here's the Buzz about Honey Bees (Missouri Farm Bureau)

What are some of your favorite books about how food is made?  Feel free to add any other honey bee educational material links in the comments.

-A Kansas Farm Mom

Check out the rest of my 30 days of Farm Mom Tips and the other farm bloggers joining me.