As we get closer to summer, our school garden is in full swing. There is much to do, and on Wednesday, we worked hard. First we planted the three sisters in our garden bed. The what you ask?  The three sisters, who like to be together: corn, beans, and squash. Growing them in the same bed is complentary to everyone involved. Next we added some of our herb starts that have been inside, to our herb bed. They included fennel, basil and marjoram. We weeded like crazy to keep our raspberry bushes in good shape, and lastly watered our barley for the chickens! Next Wednesday we will have the great chicken release!

We spent a sunny Wednesday morning with Emily for farm and garden.  Our mission was to keep achieving our goal of continuing to create a successful habitat for birds of all kinds here at TVCS. Even though our chickens are  domesticated animals who live here on campus, we still want to provide them with a habitat that will help them thrive.  We claimed a plot of soil adjacent to the chicken coop. From there, we turned up the soil, spread seeds, covered them, and watered. The watering will of course continue, and we hope to some happy free-range chicken activity in about a month!

Spring certainly feels like it has sprung! (For today at least!)  We met up with Emily and first talked about all the ideas we have for cooking our gourmet lunch for the winners of the Healthy Lunch Competition.   Next we went outside where we harvested seeds from our old sunflowers and beans, and planted herb starters for our garden. For now, they will live in our kitchen under the toasty heat lamp. We planted fennel, marjoram, parley, oregano, and basil. Yum!!!

On Wednesday, Emily joined our class to teach us how to bake bread. We learned that many things go into bread that we eat - flour, oil, yeast, sugar, etc. We were able to create our own bread, using ingredients that we know are in bread and adding a few of our own touches. We were able to enjoy the wonderful bread we made and loved it!

Baking and cooking is a great way to meet many standards in Kindergarten; understanding that things are made of parts, writing recipes, and following directions are just a few that students meet by baking. It's an easy thing you can do at home, too!

This Wednesday, after a bit of a hiatus, we were excited to see Emily again for Farm and Garden. While it was a swirling blizzard outside, we started our session with a read aloud, Charlie Needs a Cloak, by Tomie dePaola. We discussed key vocabulary such as cloak, cloth, and loom.  After we read, we set right  to finger knitting! While we are using yarn right now, our hopes are to knit with hair from our own Alpacas, when they are sheared in the spring.

 We were able to have Farm and Garden after a month-long hiatus! We met with Emily in the mud room on a snowy Wednesday. We chatted about our Alpacas and what we already know about them. One of us has a scarf made from Alpaca hair. We were all able to touch and smell sheared fur. Then we went to the back barn to fetch a few flakes to feed the alpaca brothers, Mo and Powder. We learned that they are very shy and skiddish, and that we need to move slowly and whisper when around them. They were very curious about us too. In an attempt to become friends and gain trust, we fed them grain, which they love! We learned that they will be sheared this spring, need their toenail clipped, and escaped their pasture this weekend at were running down main street! Thankfully, they were wrangled up and returned safely.

Farm and Garden

TVCS formed a partnership with Full Circle Education in 2006 to implement a comprehensive Farm and Garden Program at TVCS. All children attending TVCS participate in planting the campus garden and greenhouse in the spring, composting and mixing soil, selecting, maintaining and harvesting crops, cooking garden meals, preserving food, and caring for the farm animals (chickens and alpacas). A Harvest Party luncheon is prepared by the students in the fall, and preserved garden produce is cooked into a “Love your Garden” soup for Valentine’s Day. Through this program, TVCS children gain first-hand experience in sustainable food production, healthy meal preparation, humane farm animal care, and ecological land stewardship.