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!

4th Graders Learn uses of some California Native Plants

Last week Ms. Chaides 4th graders spent time in our new Native American Garden. The garden contains a lot of California sagebrush, monkey flower, deer grass, toyon and manzanita. We'll be adding more plants to it this winter.  We reviewed the fact that these plants can be found in our local Santa Monica Mountains that are visible from the school patio.

Manzanita has been used for medicine and food.  California sagebrush is used for medicine and is a plant used in smudging. It's leaves are very fragrant. Sticky monkey flower leaves are sticky, thus the name. Parts of it are used for medicine. The Native Americans have used the branches of deer grass to make baskets.

The students observed a white sage plant that we'll plant soon. The leaves are very fragrant and the Chumash made smudge sticks from the plant for use in ceremonies.

California sagebrush

Ms. Keller's Class Plants in the Jefferson Garden

Last week Ms. Keller's class learned about Thomas Jefferson our 3rd President. Their learning centered around his interest in plants. They learned that he farmed at his plantation in Monticello, Virginia. His vegetable garden was 1,000 feet long and his slaves worked on the plantation. His favorite vegetable was peas and one of his favorite lettuce varieties was tennis ball lettuce. The students planted seeds of Champion of England peas and tennis ball lettuce in their garden bed. We purchased the seeds from Monticello.

We discussed seed saving-Jefferson saved seeds and in fact had Lewis and Clark bring back seeds and plants from their travels. The heirloom seeds that we plant were saved from plants at Monticello. We also discussed the meaning of the term heirloom, eg. something that is saved and passed down.

Jefferson made detailed notes about his planting, his successes and his failures. That's why we know so much about his gardening! Thanks to our scribe for the day for taking notes.

Thanks to Amanda Keston for making Sugar Snap Peas and Pasta from www.epicurious.com. The kids loved it!  Thanks also to Carolyn Hasselkorn and Ms. Evie for helping the kids plant!