Dairy (5-7 Years)

Milk is produced by a dairy cow.

This activity is about milk originating from a cow and listing food made from milk.

Show the children some samples of dairy food, such as milk, yogurt and cheese. You could use the Where does milk come from? presentation. Talk about the different dairy food.

Question the children:

• What can you see?
• What is each one called?
• Who has had these before?

Explain that dairy food is from milk, and that milk is from a dairy cow. While other animals also provide milk, such as sheep and goats, milk from a dairy cow is the most popular in the UK. You could show the children the Dairy cow breeds poster.

Activity ideas

• Display a selection of dairy food, such as milk, yogurt and cheese. Ask the children to name each food. You could set-up a tasting session.
• Create a display of different dairy cow breeds – get children to paint/draw each cow, cut-out and place on a countryside background.

Round up

Recap the learning by questioning the children:

• Which animal does milk come from?
• What food is milk made into?

The journey of milk: from grass to glass.

This activity is about the main stages in the production of milk.

Quiz the children to see if they can guess where milk comes from. Suggest different animals to see which they believe provides the milk we drink.

Display the From glass to grass poster or the The journey of milk frieze to show the children where milk comes from. Alternatively, use the Dairy farming presentation.

Talk through the main stages:

• Dairy cow are reared by farmers around the UK.
• The farmer looks after the dairy farms.
• The dairy cows are milked two-three times a day.
• The milk is taken from the farm to be processed.
• The milk is treated to make it safe to drink and put into bottles or cartons.
• The fresh milk is for sale in shops.

Show the Milking video. This will show the main stages of the milking process, highlighting key steps.

Activity ideas

• Challenge the children to create their own ‘story of milk’ poster, highlighting where milk comes from.

Round up

Recap the learning by questioning the children:

• Who rears the dairy cows?
• Where do the dairy cows live?
• What is milking?

Extension

• Use the Learn with story: The farm visit to introduce dairy farming to the children. The resource comprises a story, along with a number of worksheets and support materials. Click here.
• Use the A year on the dairy farm poster to show the children what happens on a dairy farm throughout the year. Highlight what happens in the four seasons.
• Arrange a visit to a dairy farm. Allow the children to use the My dairy farm visit booklet to record their experiences.
• Make a recipe containing milk, yogurt or cheese. Click here to go to the recipe section.