Tomatoes to market... Ain't no cure for the summertime blues!
It is early in the morning on the Fourth of July. The kids have been working hard this summer on the plan to get our tomatoes to market to sell, but it has been said before, there ain't no cure for those summertime blues. They want some time off.
Things are growing and ripening and our thoughts are turning towards the other things that we have to work on and how to keep things going. One of the things we are finding with our board of 15 third graders and soon to be fourth graders is that interest will tend to wane after a bit. We are in the midst of bright, sunny, hot days and the desire to get into the nearest pool is strong.
Our students and staff have decided that they need more of a structure for the summer; especially this first summer. They wanted something that would still allow them to get things done, but still a little time to get to the beach. Instead of working daily on their projects, they will be working weekly. We have decided that we will focus on monthly themes. This month, it being July, we wanted to embrace what America means and focus on service to our fellow Americans and the world. This month, July, will focus on individual responsibility as well as service to the nation and the world as a whole. This month is about civic duty and independence.
This morning, we went through the garden and picked things. LOTS of tomatoes, but we are seeing that this is only the first wave of tomatoes and our students are getting the first visuals on exactly how many we are going to have at the end of the year and what we are going to have to do with them. We are no longer talking about hypothetical situations and these are not word problems.
The first thing that we had think about was what we do have to prepare for next year. Now in the early weeks of this first harvest, we have started working on seeds. When we first started this we also thought a great deal about how to keep it going. Many of these first fruits and veggies will be saved for seed for next year.
Next are going to be actual donations to those in need. What the kids don't take home, will go to local shelters.
Finally, when the big harvest comes in in August, we are going to work on getting them to market and sold off.
The flow of life and the garden are simple. Now, we are looking towards fall and next year. We will be planting fall plants and saving seed, preparing to have a more prosperous garden even while this year is in full swing.
This is something that we have seen has been missed when we talk about school gardens. In a standard garden, the students don't see what comes of what they planted in the spring, and they don't see what goes into planting what they see in the fall. They miss all the good stuff and often, with summer vacation, there is a broken link in the cycle.
Do you want more information about what we are doing?
contact us at thelifecooperative@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram at Thelifecooperative
Things are growing and ripening and our thoughts are turning towards the other things that we have to work on and how to keep things going. One of the things we are finding with our board of 15 third graders and soon to be fourth graders is that interest will tend to wane after a bit. We are in the midst of bright, sunny, hot days and the desire to get into the nearest pool is strong.
Our students and staff have decided that they need more of a structure for the summer; especially this first summer. They wanted something that would still allow them to get things done, but still a little time to get to the beach. Instead of working daily on their projects, they will be working weekly. We have decided that we will focus on monthly themes. This month, it being July, we wanted to embrace what America means and focus on service to our fellow Americans and the world. This month, July, will focus on individual responsibility as well as service to the nation and the world as a whole. This month is about civic duty and independence.This morning, we went through the garden and picked things. LOTS of tomatoes, but we are seeing that this is only the first wave of tomatoes and our students are getting the first visuals on exactly how many we are going to have at the end of the year and what we are going to have to do with them. We are no longer talking about hypothetical situations and these are not word problems.
The first thing that we had think about was what we do have to prepare for next year. Now in the early weeks of this first harvest, we have started working on seeds. When we first started this we also thought a great deal about how to keep it going. Many of these first fruits and veggies will be saved for seed for next year.
Next are going to be actual donations to those in need. What the kids don't take home, will go to local shelters.
Finally, when the big harvest comes in in August, we are going to work on getting them to market and sold off.
The flow of life and the garden are simple. Now, we are looking towards fall and next year. We will be planting fall plants and saving seed, preparing to have a more prosperous garden even while this year is in full swing.
This is something that we have seen has been missed when we talk about school gardens. In a standard garden, the students don't see what comes of what they planted in the spring, and they don't see what goes into planting what they see in the fall. They miss all the good stuff and often, with summer vacation, there is a broken link in the cycle.
Do you want more information about what we are doing?
contact us at thelifecooperative@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram at Thelifecooperative
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