12 Jul
Like last summer, the school garden is bursting at the seams with vegetables. You might even call it jungle-like. How are we getting all this food to our school community’s families? Well, let me tell you… Every week through July, George Watts students are harvesting once a week, then giving away the fresh vegetables at [...]
28 Feb
You’ve heard of “farm to fork,” right? Think of this season’s garden as a “seed-to-snack” project. Students at George Watts Montessori started planting seeds last week, and they’ll keep going until school gets out. By April, students should be able to start picking from the school’s edible garden to make their own classroom snacks. Imagine [...]
1 Feb
I just created a presentation about the evolution of our school garden at George Watts Montessori. (I can’t wait to tell you why I was doing that, but that will have to wait for another post.) To show what we’ve accomplished, I delved into the 5 biggest ways the garden has contributed to the students’ health and academics.
17 Dec
This week and last, I sent home large bags of fresh-grown lettuce and spinach from the Edible Garden to school families.* We’ve done this sort of giveaway before, and I’ll tell you why: 1. We can find good homes for vegetables that might otherwise languish uneaten in the garden. 2. Families who receive something fresh [...]
3 Nov
My recent garden session with fourth and fifth graders at George Watts Montessori started with a question: “When you buy garlic at the grocery store, where do you think that garlic comes from?” The students had never really thought about it, so they cautiously offered answers. One student said, “It depends on what store you [...]
20 Sep
If you’re a plant, you’ve been out of luck the past couple of weeks. We haven’t had a hint of rain, and it’s been hot as blazes. Everything in my yard looks depressed. More importantly, all the newly planted seeds and seedlings at my daughters’ school garden are in danger of withering up. I can [...]
26 Aug
Before I post images of the school grounds as they are now — with the new walking trail, boulders and gardening space — here’s a look at the first few months of the Edible Garden project, beginning in January 2009. It all started with a patch of grass surrounded by a chain-link fence, a vision [...]
We were lucky to have Duke student Morgan Carney with us last semester. Morgan did a photojournalism project (http://wondersofwatts.com/grow-watts-grow/) on our school’s garden-and-cooking project for a class she takes at Duke University. Her professor, Susie Post Rust, is a George Watts parent. The end result speaks for itself.
Two-bean kale soup. Brussels sprouts with caramelized shallots. Sweet potatoes with cinnamon pepita seeds. Gingerbread with skillet apples. That’s what was on the menu for the Harvest Mini-Feast at George Watts Montessori. And pre-K through 5th grade students cooked it ALL.
I remember that when I was in middle school, my Home Ec teacher taught me to change a diaper. She also taught me how to sew an apron using a sewing machine. I’m pretty sure there were no boys in that class. It all sounds so terribly old-fashioned and sexist now, really. But in that class, I also learned how to cook.
This is a story about the amazing ripple effect that a single person can have. Last year, a parent (not me!) of a Primary student in Ms. Baker’s class offered to help out by taking the students outside to the Edible Garden every week. The plan grew: The parent decided she may as well plan a string of lessons for the students to do outside. This is what the garden looked like on one of her volunteer days.
I just created a presentation about the evolution of our school garden at George Watts Montessori. (I can’t wait to tell you why I was doing that, but that will have to wait for another post.) To show what we’ve accomplished, I delved into the 5 biggest ways the garden has contributed to the students’ health and academics.
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