Montessori biodome salad party 2010

May 18 was the last day we'll see the Montessori kids in the Biodome this spring.

We celebrated by eating all of the experiments!

The students selected and harvested herbs for dressing, and leaves and radishes for the main course. The snap peas were still a little too small to harvest. But everything was delicious!

Hotchkiss K8 1st graders finished up the school year with a trip to Thistle Whistle Farm. They got to plant the tomatoes that they saved seed for last fall, visit with the goats and chickens and paint some decorative rocks for their gardens at home. We had a beautiful day! Thank you Mark, Katie, Kelly and Lizzy for lending a hand!

Paonia High School- May 13

Ms. Molitar's Class visited Thistle Whistle Farm two weeks ago. Highlights included egg hunting, a lesson in goat milking and what looks like some kind of ceremony with hooded participants. The photo is of the students gathered around Mark as he reveals the mysteries of organic bee keeping. The kids are trying to discourage bees from getting tangled in their hair. It worked. No one was stung or even remotely harassed, and now we all have a deeper appreciation for honey and the work that goes into it.

Garnet Mesa Spring 2010

'Garnet Mesa Days' are the biggest field trip days of the season. There are about 100 kindergartners, 2 farms, 10 different education stations, 20 chaperones and 10-15 lovely community volunteers. This spring we returned to Lamborn and Zephyros Farms to take part in some spring-time activities.

We:

Brushed wool

Visited with mini-goats

Transplanted broccoli

Acted like honey bees

Held earth worms

Tried green smoothies

Harvested wild edibles

Planted beans

Played 'roots-stems-leaves'

Made personal germination chambers

Pet lambs

I do not know how teachers do it, day in and out. Those kid are wild! Or am I getting old?

THANK YOU TO THE FARMERS AND VOLUNTEERS FOR YOUR TIME & ENTHUSIASM!

Updates!

This is rather embarrassing, it's been a month since my last post (I know ya'll have been waiting at the edge of your seats for these posts!)! Anyway, The Kids on Farms Project has been whirring along through the month of May with a total of 238 student visits on three different farms just this month. That is a record for us.