Good in Every Grain 30 www.GoodinEveryGrain.ca ONTARIO STUDENTS DISCOVER THE ONTARIO FARMERETTES Good in Every Grain teamed up with the Farmerettes to bring stories and memories of local history to Ontario classrooms this past Remembrance Day. Inspired by the book Onion Skins and Peach Fuzz: Memories of Ontario Farmerettes, we invited author Bonnie Sitter along with co-author and Farmerette, Shirleyan English and Farmerettes, Isobel Gibson and Beryl Beckett, to share the stories and memories of their time serving on the home front war efforts during World War II. Farmerettes were young women across Ontario that signed up to work on Ontario farms, to plant, take care of and harvest Ontario’s produce and grain crops in order to feed Canadians and the allied troops oversees. Ontario educators and classrooms are always on the lookout for new materials and resources for their students. The Ontario Farmerettes is a unique and often untold part of our local history. We were very fortunate to have three Farmerettes that served their country in World War II join us to share their experiences, and answer student’s questions about what life and farming was like during the 1940’s and 1950’s. Students were curious about what type of work the young women did, what life was like at a Farmerette camp, and why they wanted to be a Farmerette. Good in Every Grain hosted six sessions between November 9 and November 11, moderated by grain farmer Jenn Doelman from Renfrew County, Students in Grades K-12 attended from across Ontario. We even had classes join us from Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Over 200 classes registered for the six sessions with an estimated 3,700 students joining us to learn the Farmerette history, meet these amazing women, and ask them questions about their experiences during the war. The team at Good in Every Grain worked hard to ensure these sessions were accompanied by curriculum-based, interactive activities created in house. Educators were able to bring their classroom to our virtual sessions, and continue the conversation of Remembrance Day, female farmers and local food in their classroom with free activities and resources provided by Good in Every Grain. Activities included making custom postage stamps commemorating the Farmerettes and the hard work those ladies did to serve their country and grow our food. For more information on the Farmerettes and the Remembrance Day activities Good in Every Grain created for Ontario classrooms please visit: https://goodineverygrain.ca/2021/ 11/02/remembering- ontario-farmerettes/.
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