La route du lait

Educational program for primary schools

What is Milk’s Path?

Milk’s Path is a program intended for elementary school students that allows teachers to play a complementary role in educating children about the food they eat. Clearly, teachers cannot control everything their students eat, but they can pass on relevant information to them through fun educational activities in the classroom.

Its goal

Introduce the world of milk production to elementary school students in a playful, appropriate manner..

Its themes

the path travelled by milk, from barn to table;
the various types of knowledge and know-how involved in producing milk in Quebec;
the history of milk production;
the nutritional benefits of milk;
how dairy production works;
the environmental aspect;
how a dairy farm works;
cow biology, feeding and milking a cow, and calves;
pickup, processing and retail sale.

This training activity has three components:

A 360-degree video of a visit to a dairy farm (20 min);
An educational guide with 3 sections (information, activities, and recipe ideas)
A tour led by a milk producer or an expert guide (available in specific regions only).

Teachers or activity leaders can carry out these activities in the classroom without external support, provided they have access to a screen and Internet to show the video. The guide and video are available free of charge.

1. 360-degree video

We take you to two dairy farms in Quebec, where you will learn more about the daily lives of producers and their cows. Using your cursor or a virtual reality headset, you can look all around you and fully immerse yourself in milk’s path. A narrator shares relevant information and the producers themselves talk about their job.

2. Educational guide

By downloading this guide, you will have everything you need to travel milk’s path in your classroom. The document is large, but you can select only those sections and activities that you would like to do.

Download the guide (in French only)

Over 2/3 of this guide is filled with activities that are easy to do in a classroom and includes versions for students, answer keys for teachers and information about the educational goals sought by the proposed activities.

The first section provides factual information on milk production so that you can answer questions from students or talk about this subject in more detail. It should also be noted that the guide often refers you to additional resources.

Access the activities directly :

Nuage de lait– Storyboarding activity with ideas or words
Les races de vaches – Colouring and image association activity
Vache, Pas Vache – – “True or False” questionnaire
- Visit the website version – lait.kwizz.app
Crée une avalanche – Science experiment with milk and water
L’encre invisible – – Science experiment that uses milk as invisible ink
Lait coloré – Science and art experiment
La lumière en couleurs – Experiment using milk instead of an optical prism
Mots croisés – Crossword activity
Dictées – French language review of the concepts of milk’s path
Oh la Vache, que c’est bon! – Cooking challenge
Question Vaches – Review of knowledge about milk’s path.

3. Tour

Choose your preferred tour.

Option 1 : a tour with a local producer in a region of Quebec:

Montérégie East ([email protected], 450 774-9154, extension 5217)
Montérégie West ([email protected], 450 454-5115, extension 6286)
Estrie ([email protected], 819-346-2533, extension 118)

Option 2 : : a tour given by professional guides including a virtual reality activity, available in Montreal.

If visiting a dairy farm in your region is not possible, feel free to consult the educational guide and use the 360-degree video, which require no support.