29 Sep
This week in cooking class at George Watts Montessori, students made “Superhero Salads” and “Superhero Smoothies.” Each had all the nutrients you need in a day. For the smoothies, the surprise ingredients were spinach and basil. Here’s what a class looked like. Oh, one thing first — thanks to all the fabulous volunteers who turned […]
25 Apr
The Sit Spot is an age-old practice of going to one spot in nature on a regular basis over a long period of time and making observations of what happens around you. Classrooms at George Watts Montessori have been doing it: The benefit is that kids become more skilled at observing. They may notice the shape […]
23 Nov
I have a confession. Before I tell you my secret, though, recall with me for a moment all the work we’ve done around salads at the George Watts edible garden over the past couple of years. First, we planted a Salad Garden. We held “Salad Days” in the garden, where kids plucked fresh lettuce leaves, made […]
4 Nov
This week I have a guest post by Lower Elementary teacher Lauren Vejvoda, who talks about one of the true gifts of an Edible Garden — food that kids can pick and eat: Some of my students have been checking the lettuce in the Edible Garden daily to measure its progress. They’ve been really excited […]
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 Oct
Only 11 more days until the cooking-eating-gardening-crafts-and-music extravaganza known as … Expect hands-on cooking lessons for kids, mind-bendingly good (and healthful) tastings, pumpkins for painting, games, crafts and live music! Kids can crank an old-fashioned apple press by hand and see the apples turn into juice before their eyes! Teachers will take to the stage […]
1 Oct
Fourth and fifth grade students are introduced to the edible garden with a lesson called “Garden Changes Over Time.” It goes something like this: Measure the length and width of the garden. Use the measurements to create a grid over the garden map that divides the entire space into one-meter squares. (And voila — math.) […]
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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