West Richmond Preschool

I felt like a child on Christmas morning! I was so excited to share the farm and all its offerings with our Dixon buddies. A couple of weeks ago I met with Ian Lai, Director of the Richmond Schoolyard Society ( http://www.kidsinthegarden.org) to design the day. Kevin (the Dixon teacher), Ian and I had worked together last year so we had an idea of what we wanted to explore with the students; we also wanted to keep it fresh and do some different activities. We created a general outline of the day, knowing that depending on the students interests, some activities may be shortened or lengthened. Two weeks ago, as I wrote on our blog, we collected our Red Fife wheat seeds and each student estimated their weight. This exercise provided a unique learning opportunity to discuss food production. It was apparent that many children had never thought about where flour came from- they thought it just appeared at the grocery store. A discussion ensued about the thought, energy and commitment it t...

Bok Choy Our bok choy was ready for harvest! Harvesting is always an experience for me personally- the excitement of picking something that you grew and you know will be enjoyed by others is amazing. But then, there is this other weird part that is slightly, ever so slightly, possessive of it and its life. I love watching it grow so when it is time to harvest there is a delicate sadness that sweeps over me. But... moving on! When I showed them the vegetable in class, one child correctly labelled it. They were excited to wash it, cut it and the cooking table had lots of helpers. Some tasted it raw. Jack said "It's a little bit sweet and I like it." Emma said "I love it!". Connor said "That's crunchy." and Makena said "There's flowers in there." We tossed it with some olive oil. A dash of sea salt. And black pepper. We sauteed it for just a few minutes and Makena said " Smell it...

I was so excited for our big buddies to come on Friday! It is one of my favourite ongoing programs. The buddy program allows for so much learning for everyone involved. The big buddies learn how to be caring, patient and responsible. The little buddies learn how to be brave and make a new friend, connect with other children on a new level and develop new ideas. And, let's not forget us teachers- we are always learning as well. I am privileged to work with a teacher who shares similar philosophies around education and learning. This is our second year partnering together and I am thrilled to work alongside Mr. Vines. This year the elementary buddies are combined Grade 5 & 6 students. Our first visit together is always interesting. After general introductions, we pair the children with their buddies. The big buddies almost outnumber us 2:1, so most of the little buddies have two big buddies. I love this moment- the introduction! Understandably, each child is slightly cautious a...

Another day of working with cabbage-our prized cabbage that I babied throughout the summer. The cabbage that I saved from the demise of cabbage worms, watered, and surrounded with copper to scare away slugs. So, yes, babied. After all that care and love I was hoping the children would enjoy working with this gorgeous vegetable and like the taste of it. The coleslaw was a hit last week but would cooked cabbage get the same positive response? We assembled our ingredients for cabbage rolls and showed all the children. They smelled all the spices that were in the recipe and many of them loved the smell of the fresh garlic! They took great pride in recognizing onion, salt, pepper, tomato sauce and ground beef. I wanted to introduce them to another herb so we passed around marjoram, which many agreed smelled sweet. We pre-cooked the meat just so the children could work with the food without any cause for concern. The smell of the onions and meat simmering sparked the interest of many ...