Ms. Schwartz's Class Celebrates Earth Day

Today Ms. Schwartz's 3rd grade class visited the garden. We discussed some ways people could help the earth such as recycling, growing our own food and using reusable cups and plates.  We also discussed the Three Sisters theme garden that the 3rd grade is planting. This type of garden was planted by many Native Americans in our country and contains corn, beans and squash. The kids then chose between three areas to work-drawing pictures for a class Earth Day book, planting seeds in the Three Sisters' Garden or assembling a salad. The salad contained sugar snap peas and other vegetables. The children could chose three types of dressing-lemon olive oil, lemon juice or olive oil. The lemon olive oil dressing was the most popular. Sugar snap peas are the Vegetable of the Month at Marquez! Thanks to Yasmine Stutz for assisting today.

Preparing the sugar snap peas

Planting seeds in the Three Sisters Garden

Ms. Gardner's Class Makes a Salad and Transplants Seedlings

This week Ms. Gardner's class made a salad with lettuce, sugar snap peas, carrots and avocado. Sugar snap peas are the Marquez vegetable of the month. Thanks to Mele Liss for donating the peas.

The students planted seeds in a Grow Light garden six weeks ago and the seedlings have taken off. Today we transplanted some of the seedlings in the room's raised bed. We purchased the table top garden from Gardeners Supply Company.

These seedlings are ready to transplant!

Thanks to Dirty Girl Landcare

Thanks to Dirty Girl for Transplanting our Roses!

On Thursday Dirty Girl Landcare volunteered their employees to transplant the roses from the front of schoo. LAUSD will be replanting the area. The iceberg roses are now in front of the Marquez rainbow and the others are in the edible garden flower bed. 

Ms. Bihari's Class Eats a Salad with Peas and More!

Ms. Bihari's class celebrated the veggie of the month, the sugar snap pea, by eating a colorful salad with peas, carrots and red grapes. Several of the students harvested lettuce, peas and beans from the class bed. They were able to take home peas and lettuce from the bed if they wished.

We also discussed the three sisters gardens planted by many Native American tribes. The class will be planting this in their raised bed. This garden containing corn, beans and squash was planted by the Navajo which the class is now studying.  Thanks to Mrs. Wahlig for assisting.

Harvesting peas and lettuce

Sugar snap peas!

Ms. Farrell's Class Harvests, Plants and makes a Salad

Today Ms. Farrell's students harvested, ate a pasta salad with vegetables and learned about the Three Sister's Garden.  They harvested yellow, green and purple beans from their bed before planting corn and bean seeds.

In class we discussed that many Native Americans from different tribes had Three Sisters Gardens composed of corn, beans and squash. In fact today they had started their study of the Navajo and read that they had such a garden!  The class had planted beans and squash earlier in the year and they planted corn and more beans today.

The students prepared ingredients for a pasta salad with the help of Grandma Linda and Grandma Karen. Ms. Farrell made the dressing. They then chose which ingredients they wanted from: rotini pasta, chopped carrots, chopped beans, sugar snap peas, feta cheese and lemon olive oil dressing.  We used reusable plates and utensils and discussed the meaning of reusable. The children enjoyed the salad so much that they had several helpings!

Thanks to Amanda Keston for purchasing the sugar snap peas and thanks to Grandma Linda and Grandma Karen for helping!

Chopped beans

Chopped carrots

Pasta salad on reusable plate from IKEA.

Ms. Yoshida's Class Harvests, Eats a Salad and Plants

Today Ms. Yoshida's students harvested, planted and ate a colorful salad. They harvested peas, beets and carrots from the Peter Rabbit Garden. The carrots were yellow, purple and white as well as orange. A few crooked carrots had grown around each other since they had not been thinned.

Some students then planted tomatoes and basil in the Salsa Garden. Later they will plant cilantro and onions and jalapeno peppers. We had discussed the ingredients in salsa earlier in the garden time. We also discussed the correct way to plant tomatoes and the students wrote about that in their garden journals.

The students ate a colorful salad with peas, carrots, red grapes and lettuce. Sugar snap peas are the Vegetable of the Month at Marquez.

Crooked carrots

Harvesting and planting

Ms. Fein's Class and Mr. Jacobs' Class Harvest and Plant a Salsa Garden

This week Ms. Fein's students and Mr. Jacobs' students harvested peas, beets and carrots from the Peter Rabbit Garden and planted in the new Salsa Garden.

The second graders had planted peas, beets and carrots in the fall. They became the centerpiece of a colorful salad.  We harvested white, orange and purple carrots! We are discussing eating a rainbow at school and this salad reflected one!

Each spring second graders plant a salsa garden and then harvest the vegetables and make salsa when they return in August. Before the students plant we discussed the ingredients in salsa such as tomatoes, onions, peppers and cilantro and they wrote about this in their gardening journals. This group of second graders planted jalapeno pepper seedlings and onion seedlings and cilantro seeds.

The Marquez garden program follows the theory that if the kids plant it they will eat it!

The harvest

Planting in the Salsa Garden

Eating a rainbow

Fifth Graders Celebrate Jefferson's Birthday

Recently the Marquez fifth graders celebrated Thomas Jefferson's birthday by eating pasta with vegetables. The vegetables included peas as they were Jefferson's favorite vegetable! Before eating, the students reviewed some facts about Jefferson such as: he was the third president, his plantation was called Monticello, and his favorite vegetable was peas.

The students were able to choose from the following combinations to add to the rotini pasta: sauteed peas and tomatoes, raw peas, raw zucchini, raw carrots, feta cheese and parmesan cheese. Thanks to the students in each group that served the others.

The recipe is adapted from one on the Barilla box:

Ingredients:
1 box of pasta
4 T. olive oil
1 minced shallot
16 oz. cherry tomatoes
1 zucchini, sliced thinly
cheese

Bring a large pot of water to boil.
In a large skillet, heat half of the oil and saute shallots for 3 minutes. (Note: you can substitute onion or garlic for the shallot)
Add zucchini and season with salt and pepper. Saute for 3 minutes. (We used peas cut in bite sized pieces).
Stir in tomatoes and cook for 2 additional minutes.
Cook pasta according to pkg. directions.
Drain and toss with sauteed ingredients in skillet.
Stir in remaining oil and top with the ricotta salata cheese before serving.

(Note: we used different cheese and served it as a cold pasta salad).

Ms. Connor's Class Harvests and Plants in the Salsa Garden

On April 6 Ms. Connor's class harvested carrots, peas and lettuce from the Peter Rabbit Garden. These became the centerpiece of a colorful salad. Some of the carrots were purple and white! Some of the students peeled carrots to add to the salad. We also added blueberries to the salad!

The main lesson focused on planting a salsa garden. We discussed the ingredients and the students wrote about them in their garden journals. After learning the proper way to plant a tomato and some students planted tomato seedlings. Others planted basil and cilantro seedlings. We discussed the fact that basil and tomatoes are companions, aka friends, in the garden and grow well together.

Ms. Gardner's Class Plants Seeds in a Grow Light Garden

Last week Ms. Gardner's 4th graders planted tomato and zucchini seeds in their Grow Light garden. This system from Gardener's Supply ensures that the emerging seedlings will receive enough light to grow. The students will graph the progress of the plants once they emerge. The seedlings will be ready to transplant when they have two sets of real leaves!