Friday will be my reward!

It is days like this that I really like my job. Friday will be my reward for being here- I get to spend the day at the Oklahoma Youth Expo as a part of their OSU Ag Day. Mind you, I office in a basement with three other people. I am a chatter bug who can't talk most of the 8-hour work day. You understand that could be the death of me, right? Well, Friday I will get to talk my head off. I will get to teach youth about agriculture. I couldn't think of a better thing to cap off a week.

So, this also gave me an excuse to finally, finally recreate my work display to be more geared to kiddos. I also got to make phone calls to get some stuff donated. Those are two things that I don't get to do much of.

Whenever I go teach about wheat, I am floored by some of the misconceptions about the food we eat. And, EVERY TIME I get asked if rice is made from wheat..... did you catch that? Some kids don't even know that rice is its own plant! I have learned to hide my emotions when they ask questions like that since I wear them on my face.

95 percent of the kids I encounter have never seen a plant be grown, have no clue that they would be hungry and naked without a farmer. They think cotton is something you buy at the store, they don't get that chicken fingers and down coats are from the same place and they think that dirt is gross. Serious- the boys in high school even cringe when we force (and it is forcing them) to touch the dirt.

Therefore, my week has been using a budget of $0 to create a booth that I can take and actively engage students with. I am pretty proud, but I won't break my arm to pat my own back. I can let y'all do that for me:~) Here are some pictures------

This is the whole thing. You can't read the little stuff, but from right to left it will take you from a wheat plant (hard red winter type here) to a kernel (showcasing all six types of wheat) to flour and the milling process (with white and whole wheat in the mason jars for them to see the variation of texture and color) to the finished product.

Closer up you can kind of see the labels I made for the tables and the flour sifter I am using as a pin holder. I told you I had a $0 budget! SIDE NOTE- I have gotten a million compliments on the Harvest Welcome sign that I got at Ross for a mere $.5! I needed a little retail therapy one day and BAM! There it was. Focus, Keffer, focus!

White flour on the left, whole wheat on the right. Even in these not so bueno pictures you can see the difference. Kids get a real hands on feel when I show them these old, used Mason type jars.

SO, now I am just stapling hand outs together and getting my matching game about types of wheat food products all ready. So, for those tasks I have my Valentine's Day soundtrack on repeat and a Diet Coke in my hand. Nothing can stop me from teaching this kids a thing or two about wheat on Friday! PS- if you know of any teachers that would like a day of planting wheat or learning tell them to call my office! Please!

Stapling, stapling trying to NOT get my fingers. Until I become entertaining and put up some sort of antics, away I go!

Tootles, Keffer