We ended the Spring Session with the afterschool students releasing Monarch butterflies and celebrating an early harvest. The students prepared a salad with strawberries, cucumbers, tomatoes, chives, Swiss chard, three types of basil, Italian oregano, spearmint, and chocolate mint. The children were introduced to shiitake mushrooms; which they had not eaten before. Here some of the observations the kids wrote in their journals:
Madison, 9 years old
“We planted and watered the plants, and we watched them grow. We had a plant named Bessie, she was lettuce, but she died because we planted her in the winter. Now Bessie is compost, so she is not dead anymore.” […] “I enjoyed planting because we got our hands dirty, and that is what makes a good artist.” […] I learned that compost is good for the plants because it helps them grow more.”
Amir, 8 years old
“I learned that there are thousands of plants and that worms are good for plants and make their roots stronger.”
Alissa, 10 years old
“I enjoyed composting because we get to make it ourselves and we stirred it. I learned that red worms have five hearts and are good for plants because when their poop gets absorbed by the plants and makes them stronger. You can make compost with eggshells, banana peels, avocado and put it in a bin. We also made a quinoa salad. The ingredients to make the salad are red pepper, avocado, parsley, lettuce. You chop everything an mix it with the cooked quinoa. Quinoa comes from Peru and Bolivia. The peasants are the ones who grow quinoa.”
Daica, 8 years old
“I enjoyed composting the most because you get to see how something is after hours and hours. What I learned in the garden is that you can plant new things and improve them.”
Ugochi, 9 years old
“I chose to compost because I got to get stuff like food scraps to put in the compost bin. We planted flowers so when the bees come to get pollen from the flower, it spreads the pollen to a plant.” […] “We add avocado, red pepper, parsley, and lettuce. You mix the ingredients to make quinoa salad.”
Holiday, 7 years old
“I learned to plant and compost. Composting is when you put things together like tomatoes and eggshells. We planted flowers to attract bees.”
#St.John’s #St.Johns
GARDEN KITCHEN LAB 