Marquez's garden is a Whole Kids Foundation School Success Story!

In 2015 Whole Kids Foundation (the non-profit arm of Whole Foods) awarded the Marquez School garden program a $2,000 garden grant. We used that for gardening supplies and other items to build our garden program.

Last fall they contacted us and asked if they could profile us on their website.

One of the strengths of our program is how it links the gardens to social studies. In 2nd/3rd we plant and discuss salsa and then the children make salsa.. In 3rd/4th we plant and then eat from the Native American Three Sisters-corn, beans and squash.  The children make succotash at the beginning of 4th grade. In 4th we plant and tend the Native American Garden featuring native plants that the Chumash and Tongva and other indigenous peoples use for food, medicine and other uses.  The garden has been partly funded by the Pacific Palisades Garden Club and Gibson International Realty. In 5th the children plant heirloom seeds from Monticello that Thomas Jefferson planted in his garden.  The children also eat from these gardens.

Planting, growing and eating are great ways for children (and adults) to learn and it's fun too !

The Whole Kids Foundation website has lots of good information. Check it out after you look at the post about Marquez!

https://www.wholekidsfoundation.org/about/school-success-stories-entries/marquez-charter-elementary-school

We used some grant money to buy grow light systems from Gardeners Supply where we start seeds.

Salsa making has a writing component!

Native Americans used and use California poppies for food and medicine

Cleveland Sage is used for pain relief by the Chumash.

Children enjoy making a colorful salsa

5th graders plant heirloom radish seeds

5th graders harvest the heirloom radish!

Ms. Soo's 1st Graders Learn about Fruits and Vegetables

Today Ms. Soo's 1st graders identified fruits and vegetables that were donated by Gelson's Markets. They then made a class ABC book of fruits and vegetables and had a snack.

The fruits and veggies included celery, lettuce, kale, mango, avocado, blueberries, banana, radish, beet, tomato, yellow pepper, jalapeno pepper, pear, peach, star bruit, grapefruit, lemon, watermelon, yellow carrots, asparagus, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, sweet potato, onion and green onion.

Each child then got a paper with a different letter and drew vegetables or fruit that started with it.

They enjoyed a snack of mango and carrot when they were finished!

At the end of the class, one girl said she appreciated us for teaching them about healthy fruits and vegetables. She said that if she had a party that she'd like to serve fruit or vegetables. I've listed a recipe idea for a fruit kebob below.

Fruit on a Stick

apple
banana
pineapple chunks
shredded dried coconut
grapes (both red and green)
nonfat yogurt
wooden skewers

Wash fruit and cut into chunks. Separate into bowls and let children place on skewers or place on skewers for them. Roll fruit in yogurt and then in coconut.

Ms. Creed's 1st Grade Class Learns about Vegetables and Fruit

This week Ms. Creed's 1st graders learned about vegetables and fruit. They also made a class ABC book about fruits and vegetables and ate some vegetables.

Ms. Marie placed a lot of different vegetables and fruit at the front of the room and asked the children to identify them. Working together they did it. Beets and radish were a bit confusing-they can look so similar-but the beet leaves are longer and have more veins. 

Next the children were given a sheet with a letter of the alphabet. They drew pictures of fruit or vegetables that started with that letter. "Q" was a hard one--quince...but some other letters were much easier!

We went outside to the garden beds where the children could see kale, arugula and tomatoes growing. They saw the bed that they'll plant in soon.

Finally, they enjoyed a snack of broccoli, lettuce, carrot and sugar snap peas. One of the boys said, "I never eat vegetables, but I like this"! 

"B"

Ms. Palo's Class Study Native Plants at School

Marquez School 4th graders are learning about social studies by way of native plants. Recently Ms. Palo's 4th graders met at the native garden at the north end of the school patio. There we discussed some of the plants that have been planted there-manzanita, deer grass, toyon, California sagebrush and monkey flower.  All of these plants were and are used by local Native Americans. The students also looked at white sage and Cleveland sage plants that we'll plant another day.

These plants can be found in the Santa Monica Mountains just a couple of miles away.

The Native Americans used the native plants for food, medicine and other daily uses. Here are just a few of there uses. Manzanita and toyon branches were used to make arrow shafts. Deer grass is woven into baskets. The leaves of California sagebrush and the monkey flower were used as medicine. Toyon was also used as medicine and food. White sage leaves are dried and then used in ceremonies. Cleveland sage leaves are used for medicine and food.

These plants are also drought tolerant and many of them attract our local pollinators.

California Sagebrush

Smudge stick made from white sage

2nd graders in Ms. Fein's class and Ms. Yoshida's class Learn about Decomposing

This week 2nd graders in Ms. Fein's class and Ms. Yoshida's class learned about decomposing and organic matter in soil as part of their introduction to composting.  They put fruit and veggie scraps. newspaper, coffee grounds and coffee filters and dirt in a plastic bag. We'll look at the bags in a few weeks to see how the contents have changed. At that time we'll start to put items in our worm bin.

We discussed some decomposers including pill bugs and red wriggler worms.

Ms. Newman's Kindergarteners Learn about Veggies and Plant

Yesterday Ms. Newman's kindergarteners visited the edible garden for the first time. We discussed their favorite fruits and vegetables and then reviewed the vegetables that they were going to plant. We named lettuce, kale, broccoli, sugar snap peas and carrots.  The children planted sugar snap pea seeds and then seedlings of kale, lettuce, broccoli and beets in their Peter Rabbit/salad bed.

Thanks to community volunteer Carolyn Hasselkorn and parent Crystal for helping the children plant.

The children enjoyed sampling carrots and sugar snap peas in the garden. Later Ms. Newman was prepared a taste of salad using broccoli, peas and lettuce.

One boy said, "this was fun! I've never gardened before!" Hopefully he'll continue to enjoy gardening!