Marquez Charter School Celebrates National Farm to School Month

In October, Marquez Charter School celebrated National Farm to School Month for the second year in a row.  During our celebration, we gave away fruits and vegetables donated by local farmers. This year we received strawberries from Harry's Berries from the Santa Monica Farmers' Market. We also received stone fruit, apples and grapes from Fresno based G Farms  (the plums were wonderful) of the Palisades Farmers Market and vegetables from Givens Farm and Frecker Farms also vendors at the Palisades Farmers Market.   Here's the count:  

4 boxes of pears  (G Farms)

4 boxes of apples    (G Farms)

6 crates of grapes   (G Farms)

3 boxes of plums   (G Farms)

1 box of carrots. (Frecker Farms)

1 box of mixed fruit and veggies (John Givens Farms)

1 flat of strawberries (Harry's Berries)

We were overwhelmed by the generosity of the donations! Not only did we give away fruit and veggies two mornings, but we delivered fruit and vegetables to many classes and also used a lot of the vegetables for cooking experiences.

Several classes wrote thank you notes to the farmers and many students signed a thank you card.

Cooking with Donations from Local Farmers

This week several classes cooked with donations from local farms Given's Farm and Frecker Farms. Both are vendors at the Palisades Farmers Market. Second graders made salads with the vegetables and third graders made lettuce wraps. The lettuce wraps also contained black beans, corn broccoli and tomatoes donated by Gelsons. These kids love their veggies! Many kids wanted seconds of the ingredients and of the ranch dressing.

The students added the non ranch dressing remains to the nearby compost bin.

A Great Garden Celebration

On June 4,  twenty-five Marquez students grades 1-5 talked about their garden experiences this past year to an audience of parents, donors and the local press. Elenor Buckner serenaded us on the violin. After the speeches and refreshments, students gave tours of the raised bed vegetable gardens and the native plant garden.

Students from Ms. Creed's class, Ms. Yoshida's class, Ms. Fein's class, Ms. Gardners' class, Ms. Farrell's class, Ms. Schwartz's class, Ms. Bihari's class, Ms. Palo's class, Ms. Chaides' class and Ms. Keller's class participated.

2nd graders talked about starting seeds under grow lights and transplanting them as well as working in the lower garden before school;

3rd graders in Ms. Farrell's class talked about planting pumpkins, making salsa as well as having a visiting chef, Chef Sam, who made ratatouille with them and making lettuce wraps. Ms. Bihari's students talked about planting the Three Sisters Garden and how some Native Americans such as the Navajo planted one. Ms. Schwartz's students read the recipe for the rainbow salad.

4th graders discussed their study of California native plants and gave descriptions of deer grass, white sage and monkey flower. They learned the botanical names of the plants and the uses by Native Americans. They also drew the plants in their notebooks, copying them from their i-pads. Thanks to Sharon Agabra for teaching these units.

5th graders from Ms. Keller's class talked about Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd president, and his gardens at Monticello. They told us that peas were his favorite vegetable.

The refreshments included a rainbow salad made by the 3rd graders in Ms. Schwartz's class.

We recognized members of the PP Garden Club, which has been a donor to our garden program as well as GardeningKnowHow, Kellogg's Garden Products, Gelson's, Renee's Garden and Seed Savers Exchange. Finally, we also thanked the valuable parent volunteers including Sharon Agabra, Winter Armm, Gaby Valensi and Laurie Vander Veen, and the many teachers who are essential for the garden program's success.

California Poppy by 4th grader

California Poppy illustration

3rd grade thank you

Rainbow salad by Ms. Schwartz's class

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Ms. Farrell's Class Starts Melons and Squash Seeds

In early May, Ms. Farrell's 3rd graders started melon and pumpkin seeds under grow lights.
They attempted to harden off the seedlings at the beginning of June but the local squirrels ate most of them.  We'll try to harden some off under protective netting and hopefully transplant them soon.

These will be the first pumpkins successfully grown at Marquez!







Seeds started and placed on seedling heat mat and then under grow lights.








Transplanting seeds into pots donated by the Pacific Palisades Garden Club members

Ms. Creed's 1st Graders Start Chives in Milk Cartons

Recently, Ms. Creed's 1st graders started chives in milk cartons. When the chives germinate and are fairly long, the students will be able to give their chives a haircut!  The children sampled chives before they planted the seeds.

The containers were covered with plastic wrap until the seeds germinated.

Marquez School 2nd Graders Celebrate Earth Day

This spring Marquez School 2nd graders celebrated Earth Day by planting in peat pots and eating a garden salad. Each class visited the lower edible garden with their teacher. We discussed that the peat pots will decompose in the soil.

Children chose between lettuce seeds and basil seeds. They were able to taste basil.

The children enjoyed eating and relaxing in the lower garden. Some drew and others looked at the plants and bugs.

Thanks to the parents and community members who helped serve the salads at the "salad bar". Thanks also to Gelson's for donating the salad ingredients.

Activities for National Nutrition Month

March is National Nutrition Month. At Marquez Charter we're using this month to reinforce eating fruits and vegetables-aka Eating a Rainbow. Vegetables and fruit should make up half of your plate.

We're lucky here in California to have so many fresh fruits and vegetables!

The basis of our edible garden program is that If You Grow It You'll Eat It!! 

Kids from preschool on up usually know the colors of the rainbow. Have them think of a vegetable or fruit for each color...

The following resources for teachers and parents might give you some ideas:

1) Rainbow on my Plate  https://pbhfoundation.org/pdfs/pub_sec/edu/cur/rainbow/RainbowOnMyPlate_ClassActivitiesFINAL.pdf

2) Superkids Nutrition  worksheets, activities, book suggestions

3) Nutrition Bytes by Jessica Siegel, Gelson's Nutritionist  http://nutritionbytes.libsyn.com/012-fuel-for-school-lunches

4) Choose my Plate https://www.choosemyplate.gov/preschoolers-picky-eating  Tips for getting the picky eaters to eat more vegetables

5) https://www.facebook.com/BANTonline/photos/a.500908309987580/1212544202157317/?type=1&theater

I really like the points made in the Choose my Plate article. Try some of them!

Me. Soo’s 1st Graders Harvest

Last week, Ms. Soo’s 1st graders harvested some of their arugula. They learned that you can eat the flowers as well as the leaves!

Mrs. Farrell’s and Ms Schwartz’s Classes Plant Herb Gardens

This month two 3rd grade classs planted herb gardens. Ms. Farrell’s class planted some seeds inside under grow lights and some outside in recycled coffee cans. Ms. Schwartz’s class planted seeds outside in coffee cans.

They planted camomile, dill, cilantro and chives outside; sweet basil, lime basil, spearmint and marjoram inside.

Ms. Schwartz’s herb garden

Mrs. Farrell’s herb garden

Seed starting

At Marquez we're starting seeds for our spring gardens.  Some classes are starting seeds inside and others are planting them outside.

Wherever you're planting, if you have seeds that supposedly expired a year or more ago, you can check the viability by the following test recommended by Gardening Know How, a sponsor of the Marquez Edible Garden:

"Are Old Seeds Still Good? Before planting with expired seed, there are some steps to take to check whether or not germination will be successful. When wondering, “will expired seeds grow,” gardeners can conduct a simple germination test. To test the viability from a seed packet, simply remove about ten seeds from the packet. Moisten a paper towel and place the seeds into it. Place the damp paper towel into a zip-lock bag. Leave the bag at room temperature for ten days. After ten days, check the germination of the seed. Germination rates of at least 50% indicate a moderately viable packet of seeds.

Read more at Gardening Know How: Will Expired Seeds Still Grow: Planting With Expired Seed Packets https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/propagation/seeds/will-expired-seeds-still-grow.htm"

2nd Graders Plant Seeds to Grow Indoors

Today Ms. Fein's class, Ms. Gardner's class and Ms. Connor's class planted seeds that they'll grow inside under grow lights. Seeds need water, warmth and air to germinate. They all need light once they germinate.

They planted tomatoes for their salsa gardens as well as seeds of several companion plants.  We discussed that companions are friends. The companions included lettuce, carrots and peas, The children learned that the seeds are planted twice as deep as they are big. The smaller seeds are barely covered.

In some classes the children placed a popsicle stick by the cells that each child planted in.

The children will check their seeds daily to see when they germinate.

Ms. Connor's 2nd Graders Plant in Their Bed

This week, Ms. Connor's 2nd graders planted seeds in their raised bed, composted in the worm bin and wrote about this in their journals.  They planted seeds of red lettuce. orange carrots and cosmic purple carrots. They also buried seeds from last year's cherry tomatoes to see if they'd germinate. 

They also added scraps of fruit and vegetables, egg shells and coffee ground to the worm bin and played with the worms.  The worms eat the food scraps which pass through their bodies and become worm compost. Eventually we'll add the worm compost to our garden beds. We use red wriggler worms in our worm bin. They added the branches of the old tomato plant to the larger compost bin.

 Composting is an easy and educational way to recycle food waste.   

We have two compost bins at Marquez. One is the worm bin for vermicomposting and the other is a green tumbler. While we put kitchen scraps in the worm bin, we can put green and brown garden waste as well in the tumbler.

Some books for kids about composting include Compost Stew, Kids Can Compost and Composting, Nature's Recyclers.

Ms. Farrell's Students Plant a Rainbow Garden

This week Ms. Farrell's 3rd graders continued planting in their raised garden bed. As the 3rd grade is studying "Eating a Rainbow", they planted seeds of different colored vegetables.

They planted heirloom Little Finger Carrots, Tom Thumb Lettuce, Touchstone Gold Beet, Red Salad Bowl Lettuce, and Valentine's Day Blend Radish.  The last three types were donated by High Mowing Organic Seeds.

The children learned about succession planting-that means planting seeds in succession (in this case 3-4 weeks) to ensure a longer harvest period. Some of the lettuce, eggplant and radishes that they'd planted in December have already germinated.

We'll be using some lesson ideas from Whole Kids Foundation to reinforce the concept of Eating a Rainbow.

Some cooking ideas: make a fruit kebab with different color vegetables or make a salad with different colors of vegetables.

Jessica Siegel from Gelson's Visits Marquez Charter School

This week Jessica Siegel, Gelson's registered nutritionist and dietician, made a kale and strawberry salad with 2nd graders in Mrs. Fein's class.  The children actively participated in making the salad.
All children received two pieces of kale which they tore into small pieces. They also cut the strawberries in quarters.  Several children eagerly cut the red onion and avocado into small pieces while others mixed the olive oil, lemon juice and soy sauce dressing.  After the avocado was added to the salad mixture, several children massaged the greens. Then the rest of the ingredients were added. We made four batches of the following recipe.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons lemon juice (juice from 1 juicy lemon)
1 teaspoons San-J tamari lite 50% less sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon Napa Valley organic olive oil
1 bunch organic lacinato kale leaves, center ribs removed, leaves torn into bite-size pieces
1 small firm, but ripe organic avocado, diced in ½-inch pieces
12 medium organic strawberries, hulled and quartered
2 tablespoons minced red onion
optional- not included in the class lesson-1/2 cup Gelson’s Finest Chandler walnut halves and pieces


Directions:

In a small container with a lid, combine lemon juice, tamari, and olive oil. Let stand while you prepare the salad. You may not need all of the dressing
In a salad bowl, combine the kale and avocado. Use your hands to gently massage the avocado into the kale so that the leaves are lightly coated and the avocado pieces are still intact. Add in the strawberry pieces and onion. Shake dressing well and toss the necessary amount with the salad. Toss in walnut pieces and serve

The final product!

Massaging the kale and avocado