Mr. Lantos' class and Ms. Conn's class learn about Jefferson's favorite vegetable

Recently, Mr. Lantos' class and Ms. Conn's class studied Thomas Jefferson's favorite vegetable, the English pea. They learned that President Jefferson had contests with his neighbors about who would harvest the first pea of the season. We also discussed the meaning of heirloom seeds, of which we have planted several in the Jeffersonian garden.  We tied the discussion into social studies by discussing that one of the goals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition was to bring back new plants. The students have learned that Jefferson retired to his plantation at Monticello in Virginia. The children remember that his vegetable garden was 1,000 feet long because they measured that distance in the fall!   The class sessions ended with a tasting of linguine made with English peas and parmesan cheese.