bingo | What's not to like?

The following article will appear in next week’s Julian News. Great photos follow after the story!

Joining with individuals, schools and cities across America, Julian Elementary School celebrated its first National Food Day on October 24^th. From 9:00 to 2:00, K-5 students were treated to eight different workshops spread across campus focusing on food, agriculture, cooking and nutrition. Simply put, students and staff ate it up.

All sessions were experiential, interactive and expertly taught by a team of volunteers. Representing the Julian Apple Growers Association, Mary Prentice and Teak Nichols related the history of the apple while having the students press their own cider. Josh Rasmussen, from Down the Road Farm, led students in a planting activity as well as brought farm animals for the kids to enjoy. Farm Smart, a program of the UC Desert Research and Extension Center, lent us Stephanie Collins for a wonderful program that included churning butter, comparing animal feed, and milking Bessie, a wooden cow equipped with an inner stainless steel container filled with real milk. Camp Stevens staff Ryan Wannamaker and Correen Walsh captivated kids in the garden with pollinator games, honey tastings and dressing up as beekeepers. Led by Tricia Elisara and Gina VanderKam, students played vocabulary-rich “Garden Bingo” and interacted with the outstanding documentary film “Nourish” about global food issues.

Cooking was another key ingredient of the day. Chef Greg from Healthy Adventures Foundation enlisted students to help make lettuce wraps and flavorful tostadas. Across campus, Chef Jeremy Manley and Carie Quick talked with students about the new school lunch program (catered by Jeremy’s on the Campus) and had the students brainstorm new menu items. To tie it all together, Carmen Macias led a game in classifying edible plant parts, decorating a “My Plate” diagram with healthy choices and ending with a fitness activity. Many parents, Garden Beneficials and other dedicated community members generously gave their day to assisting at each workshop.

To add to this educational banquet, the campus was decorated with posters made by students in the weeks prior, promoting good food and healthy habits. At 11:00, students gathered on the playground for a scheduled exercise break led by Coach Dobby from the Julian Fitness Center. Just before starting, however, music came on the load speaker and Principal/Superintendent Kevin Ogden moved to the center of the campus, dancing. Teachers joined him from all directions, and the first ever flash mob at Julian Elementary was performed, appropriately enough to the song “We can change the world” on a day dedicated to making a healthier world for all of us!

Celebrating Food Day was an idea generated by the school’s Farm to School Team as part of the year-long USDA planting grant awarded to the district and spearheaded by Pathways Executive Director Susi Jones. To learn more about National Food Day, or to begin planning activities for next year, please visit www.foodday.org and/or contact the Farm to School Coordinator Tricia Elisara for more information.

Students made these posters in University of Wednesday

Cranking the cider press (Photo courtesy of Karen Alexander)

Wait a minute….is that Gina VanderKam playing Garden Bingo? (On a visit from Washington, she was my right hand woman all day!) She is still trying to get the crayon off her fingers….

How adorable is this?

An activity to classify the edible parts of the plant

Working on a “My Plate” activity

After this class, the girl pictured told me “Best day ever!”

University of Wednesday is a new program at out school. After lunch on Wednesday all of the classes go to an enrichment class: art, garden, natural history, etc. Every week they rotate. This is a great development for the garden as it allows me to be a true “garden educator,” creating a lesson plan tailored to each grade.

Photo courtesy of Marisa McFedries

Last week I divided the group in half. One half played Garden Bingo with me. I don’t simply call out the words—I give examples of them in our garden and the kids have to come up with the words. It was windy so I had to tape down the boards. And the plastic bingo chips were too lightweight so I finally hit upon this idea. (Easy clean up–just flick these chips off the table.)

The other half did this scavenger hunt. It’s an exercise in observation, with a few academic standards thrown in. I usually have adult volunteers with me, so they walk around the garden, helping kids who are stumped or seizing teachable moments. This “scavenger hunt” format works really well, as kids are self-directed, working in pairs with the questions below on a clipboard. And it’s easy to adapt to the grade and the season.

Sample:

1) How many varieties (different types) of tomatoes are currently growing in our garden?

2) We are currently growing yellow snapdragon flowers. Examine the flowers. Why do you think they have this name?

3) Draw the most beautiful thing in the garden:

4) Cite one example of insect damage or plant disease in the garden. (Look closely at leaves.)

5) Write three words that come to mind when you see the Hubbell Gate. (The new colorful one at the end of the garden). Now use the thesaurus on the main table and fine a synonym for each of these words.

Your word Word from thesaurus

__________________________ _________________________________

6) Smell at least three herbs in the herb garden. Draw the leaf of the one you like most. Do you know its name?

7) We are a “certified wildlife habitat.” What are the four things needed for a habitat? (This is printed somewhere in the garden.) Pick two elements and give an example of both.

8) Watch the 4 minute video on tendrils. What did scientists recently learn? Where are there tendrils in our garden? Do you notice the phenomenon pointed out in the video?

(We couldn’t get this excellent Science Friday clip to play out in the garden, so I explained it and the kids watched it later in class.)

Then the kids switch so they both have a chance at each activity. We end by gathering together at the table to share our answers and questions, and I try to always have something from the garden prepped to eat as we talk together. The containers get passed around until all the food is gone!