Kitchen Gardening at Beard School

My return to the Northern Hemisphere coincided with the end of summer, which to gardeners means....tomatoes, tomatoes and more tomatoes! With enthusiasm still running high from my Aussie learning experience, I conducted my first garden and kitchen lessons with the students in Rooms 106 and 108.
The students in 106 honed their keen sense of observation during a scavenger hunt in the garden...searching for tomatoes, leaves, flowers and worms. Unfortunately, the worms weren't overly cooperative and were enjoying their own game of hide and seek! Taking advantage of the summer bounty, students harvested ripe, juicy tomatoes and aromatic basil to use in making their first recipe. Back in the classroom, students sliced, chopped and sampled their way to a fresh and tasty summer caprese salad. Although there were more "yuck" votes than "yum," I'm undeterred in my quest to expose students to new culinary and sensory delights in the upcoming weeks!
As 108 made their way to the garden on a gorgeously sunny Friday, they were greeted by the unexpected....the sprinkler. Bo worked some magic in securing the hose, which allowed students to wander the garden space without an afternoon shower! Students participated in a tennis ball hunt, a sensory and sorting activity and then filled their harvest baskets with tomatoes and basil (believe it or not, there are STILL more tomatoes on the vines). Our cooking group created a lovely afternoon snack of bruschetta with tomatoes, basil, garlic and olive oil...this recipe was a HUGE hit! Tonia's kids just couldn't get enough tomatoes! I was so pleased with the level of attention, engagement, language and communicative intent that occurred...it was such a fantastic way to end the first week of school!

Special Notes: Thanks to Kerry and Tonia for letting me invade your classrooms and letting me bumble through the first attempt...be patient while I work on smoothing out the kinks!

Two small wheelbarrows, watering cans, gardening gloves and child sized tools were delivered this week. Get ready to roll up your sleeves and get diggin'!

Next week's recipe: tomato, basil and mozzarella pizza