There is so much growth going on in the garden!! It looks so good out there! The swiss chard leaves are massive, the collard greens too! I see a lot of basil pesto in our future and radish top pesto, kale chips and maybe even some soups. I’ve spotted a few cabbages that are taking shape and the carrots are showing up too! In a couple of weeks we should start to see broccoli heads forming and also cauliflower. Isn’t Mother Nature amazing! The rain we’ve had these last couple of weeks has really boosted the growth!
Now is the time to dig out those recipes and go garden to table! Students can harvest and clean the produce. They love chopping, mixing, measuring, stirring and most of all tasting. As we move into the kitchen, something to keep in mind is the time. Here are a few reminders and some ways to help utilize time so the classroom is ready for the next class that might need the kitchen – 45 minutes goes by fast when you’re having fun!
- Have tools ready before the class arrives – chopping boards, knives, etc (all knives should be kept on top of the fridge out of reach)
- Prepare a few things ahead of time – like rice, pasta, or other cooked items
- Clean as you work – have a volunteer start on dishes before class is over as they might be needed for the next class, have a student on floor duty, another on composting. (Please keep all cooking tools in the green classroom – at the moment we are missing baking sheets.)
- Wipe down surfaces at the end of class.
- Empty the trash in the city bins if it is full.
- Remember – only food scraps (produce) should go in our compost pile #1- compostable containers, utensils and paper towels go in the city compost.
We have a total of 5 full weeks left before the Winter break – that’s the halfway point, how is that possible! Here are a few class ideas to keep you going. Remember, you can make your lessons as laid back or vigorous as you like. It doesn’t matter what the activity or lesson is, the kiddos just love being outside! Have fun and see you in the garden!
Pestos
How to Make Pesto With Any Herb – Yesterday after tasting our radishes we used the radish tops mixed in with some basil leaves and made pesto.
Swiss Chard Recipes
- Swiss Chard Chips – watch out kale, we can make chips with swiss chard too!
- Swiss Chard Tahini Dip
- Swiss Chard Salad – with lemon, bread crumbs and parmesan
- Swiss Chard Fritters
- Swiss Chard and White Beans
Kale Recipes
- Kale Fried Rice
- Lemon Parmesan Kale Salad
- No Fail Kale Chips
- Sweet Potato Kale Soup
- Roasted Garlic Kale Hummus
Collard Green Recipes
- Quick Collard Greens
- Stuffed Collard Greens – this looks yummy, you will definitely need to prepare a few things ahead of time but I bet the kids will love this wrap!
- Vegan Collard Greens – made with tomatoes and onions
- Raw Burrito
Radish Recipes
Lesson Ideas for November and into December
Native American Heritage Month Ideas (November)
- Show how an entire ear of corn is used by making Corn Husk Dolls or grinding corn. You can also make corn necklaces.
- Make this game using lima beans and craft sticks Native American Stick Game
- Make music shakers from fallen sticks Native American Inspired shakers
- Learn about acequias (canals) and how Native Americans used them to irrigate their crops. Have your class develop their own using dirt and baking pans.
Thanksgiving Ideas
- Write words of gratitude in your journal or on loose paper and read them to the plants in the garden.
- Write poems of gratitude in your journal or on loose paper and read them to the plants in the garden.
- Make a Thankful Thanksgiving Tree
- Do leaf rubbings
- Other Fun Things to close out the calendar year
- Make a bird seed ornament
- Get ready for Spring and make seed paper for spring flowers and hand out as gifts
- Help the birds as the weather turns cold and make a bird feeder with sunbutter (you can find some in the green classroom) – you can also do these with pinecones
- Talk about the Winter Solstice and make these Winter Solstice Lanterns – I made these last year and they actually turned out pretty good
- Stick and string ornaments
- Orange pomanders
- Snowflake Ornament made with sticks