Spring Planting & Agriculture Lessons

The future belongs to those of us still willing to get our hands dirty. We have an entire school population who dig in every week to learn from the soil, plants, animals and each other. This week, we planted lettuce, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts and cabbage. In addition to these new crops, every class bed has potatoes, onions and garlic growing in them. Now is the time that we observe, troubleshoot and tend to the garden with hopes of a big harvest in May.

6th graders had the opportunity to hear from Susie Marshall of Grow North Texas. She is working with others in our area to increase food production and access for all. She will be featured in our urban agriculture project that 6 grade has been working on this year. The project will be completed and showcased at Earth Day Texas and A Peep At The Coops Urban Coop Tour this spring. You will want to see it!

5th graders are learning about local food with our Whole Kids Foundation Innovation Grant. This week, they learned about the Incredible Edible Egg. #Yum

 

Our farm continues to grow and bloom! Thanks so much for your support! Check back to watch us grow.

It's All About the Chickens!

 

Chickens make us happy! They are definitely a beloved farm animal of all of our staff and students. This week we learned about the behaviors of our hens. Pecking order, chicken sounds, egg laying, egg production terms (cage free, free ranged and pastured), life span and the way that chickens are like a family group were discussed and observed in the coop for all classes. Our 5th graders continued their +Whole Kids Foundation  lessons on Hatching Healthiness, learning about the connections that chickens have on their diets, as well as how advertising impacts the labels that they have on chicken and their eggs. They learned that they can be deceiving. Hmm?

 

Chickens are the best and we showed our flock the love! Stop by the coop for some entertainment and check out our hens. #Peep

Time to Plant Potatoes

Typically, we plant potatoes around Presidents Day. This year, we put them in the ground a few weeks early. Our temperatures have been unseasonably warm, so we dug in and planted 65 pounds of spuds. The kids learned about seed potatoes and how travelers and explorers brought them on their journeys since they knew that they could multiply them at harvest. We learned about different varieties and planted red, white and blue ones. The kids dug deep holes and placed a potato chunk in the ground. Then they covered them up and will watch them pop up in the next few weeks. We are hoping for a big harvest and a healthy Potato-Palooza celebration sometime in May. Follow along as we share our progress.