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Threshing and Winnowing Amaranth
Threshing and winnowing are age-old practices that help farmers process raw grain crops into edible products. In this hands-on lesson, students will use many of their senses to process Amaranth grain, an ancient plant valuable to many cultures around the world.
During this lesson, students will make their own newspaper pot (planter), fill it with soil and plant amaranth and/or marigold seeds as we discuss and explore the idea of starting seeds indoors.
This lesson introduces students to the Winter Cooking Program by making a simple and delicious Apple Carrot Salad.
Heating food changes flavor and texture. In this lesson, students will taste apples before and after they are cooked to compare and contrast the flavor. Students will participate in making the applesauce as they discuss the science behind the process.
In this lesson, students will select a few common characteristics of apples. Then complete a grid, rating the strength of each of those characteristics in three different apple varieties.
Tomatoes, Basil and Nasturtium grow well when planted together – not to mention taste delicious when eaten together. In this lesson, students will identify the correct bed and spacing within the bed, then transplant these three companion crops.
In this Farmer’s Cheese-making lesson, students will: practice reading a recipe, work as a team and practice table manners such as grace and courtesy. The end product will include polite students eating “classmade” cheese in table groups.
Needs of Seeds (Part 2-Plant Growth)
This lesson plan picks up where Needs of Seeds (Part 1) leaves off. Students investigate the bean seed they planted the week prior, and explore what changed about their seeds and why. This lesson ends with students illustrating the growth of their beans and labeling the parts of the plant!
(Winter Cooking Program) Native Foods – Cooking and Community
In this lesson (2 of 2 in the Native Foods series)), students make either a Three Sisters Soup or Three Sisters Saute to explore how corn, beans, and squash were and are an important food combination for native people.
Explore plant growth and the needs of seeds through this hands-on lesson pair. During this lesson (the first of the pair), students explore the inside of a seed and learn all about germination. The lesson ends with students planting their own seeds to watch grow into baby plants over the coming week(s). Needs of Seeds (Part 2-Plant Growth) picks up where this lesson leaves off.
The third of the Three Sisters crops is beans. Students will find the corn and squash (planted in prior weeks) in their garden bed, then look at the planting diagram to identify the proper location for the last of the sisters. As a class, students will plant and water the bean seeds, then watch them grow with the corn and squash in the coming weeks and months.
Learn how to preserve fall crops through windowsill fermentation! In this lesson, students will help to create delicious class-made pickles from green tomatoes, dill, beets and/or cauliflower. Two weeks later, the pickles will be ready to taste as a class.
In this winter lesson, students will learn how to take fresh broccoli and prepare it for freezing. Students will learn how enzymes, time and temperate affect food – and how we can preserve food for later consumption
Learn how to use a spading fork, pruning shears, and your own hands to harvest fall crops such as tomatoes, carrots, and squash. We’ll also practice cleaning and storing produce properly.
Together, the class will harvest cabbage and carrots in the garden. Students will help to clean the vegetables and then chop up ingredients to make coleslaw. The class will enjoy their snack at the end of the lesson!
(Winter Cooking Program) Rice Noodle Salad- Cooking and Community
In this lesson (2 of 2 in the Rice Noodle Salad series), students will be busy preparing the fresh ingredients for the salad including grating carrots, preparing cilantro and tearing lettuce. Class will end with all groups adding their ingredients to the and sampling the Japanese-inspired combination of rice (noodles) and vegetables.
Winter Cooking Program – Intro Lesson
This lesson introduces students to the Winter Cooking Program by making a simple and delicious Apple Carrot Salad.
Together, the class will harvest cabbage and carrots in the garden. Students will help to clean the vegetables and then chop up ingredients to make coleslaw. The class will enjoy their snack at the end of the lesson!
Learn how to use a spading fork, pruning shears, and your own hands to harvest fall crops such as tomatoes, carrots, and squash. We’ll also practice cleaning and storing produce properly.
Learn how to preserve fall crops through windowsill fermentation! In this lesson, students will help to create delicious class-made pickles from green tomatoes, dill, beets and/or cauliflower. Two weeks later, the pickles will be ready to taste as a class.
In this lesson, students will count the weeks the cover crop has been growing, measure how tall it has grown and “turn it under”, incorporating the nitrogen-rich plant matter into the soil for the benefit of future crops.
(Winter Cooking Program) Groundnut Stew- Cooking and Community
Students learn to make Groundnut Stew, an African recipe, during this lesson (2 of 2 in the Groundnut Stew series). They get to practice their nut-butter making skills as well as their oral tradition storytelling while the stew is simmering.
(Winter Cooking Program) Native Foods – Cooking and Community
In this lesson (2 of 2 in the Native Foods series), students make either a Three Sisters Soup or Three Sisters Saute to explore how corn, beans and squash were and are an important food combination for native people.
This lesson introduces students the Three Sisters, a Native American planting trio of corn, beans and squash. Students will take part in measuring out corn spacing, making mounds for the seeds, planting and watering the first of the “sisters”. Beans and squash will be planted in subsequent weeks.
Learn how to preserve fall crops through windowsill fermentation! In this lesson, students will help to create delicious class-made pickles from green tomatoes, dill, beets and/or cauliflower. Two weeks later, the pickles will be ready to taste as a class.
Students will pull out summer crops and plant cover crop in their place. Then they will consider how these practices stop the spread of pests and disease and restore fertility to the soil.
(Winter Cooking Program) Groundnut Stew- Cooking and Community
Students learn to make Groundnut Stew, an African recipe, during this lesson (2 of 2 in the Groundnut Stew series). They get to practice their nut-butter making skills as well as their oral tradition storytelling while the stew is simmering.
This lesson includes harvesting, chopping and crushing garlic scapes to make delicious garlic scape pesto – a full sensory experience and a mini cooking lesson all rolled into one.
Students will learn about fall Tulip and Garlic blubs in this lesson. They will explore the cloves inside the garlic bulb, plant cloves 6 inches apart and help to gather leaves to spread as mulch to help keep the bulbs over the winter.
Learn how to preserve fall crops through windowsill fermentation! In this lesson, students will help to create delicious class-made pickles from green tomatoes, dill, beets and/or cauliflower. Two weeks later, the pickles will be ready to taste as a class.
Amaranth, Sunflower and Borage are three flowers that grow well together and repel pests throughout the season for one another. What a great team! In this lesson, students will help to locate the correct bed, measure out spacing and transplant these flowers into the soil.
In this herb lesson, students will follow tea from plant to cup. We will harvest mint together and then brew some delicious tea to share while discussing how herbs add flavor to our food.
(Winter Cooking Program) Rice Noodle Salad- Cooking and Community
In this lesson (2 of 2 in the Rice Noodle Salad series), students will be busy preparing the fresh ingredients for the salad including grating carrots, preparing cilantro and tearing lettuce. Class will end with all groups adding their ingredients to the and sampling the Japanese-inspired combination of rice (noodles) and vegetables.
This early spring lesson chooses a “Spring Salad Day” late in the school year, and asks students to work backward to figure out what to plant and when to plant it in order to have a great salad on their chosen day.
Every good farmer likes to eat. In this lesson, students will taste the value of hard work as they harvest, clean, mix and eat school-grown salad with turnips, lettuce and sugar snap peas.
During this hands-on lesson, students cultivate the soil and plant lettuce. Students will learn how to follow and write careful step-by-step instructions and will discuss the differences between conventional and small-scale sustainable agriculture in simple tasks like seeding crops.
Using tape to create life-size garden beds in the classroom, students will figure out how many seeds they need to order to fill their beds. Measurement, sharing and multiplication will come in handy during this lesson!
This lesson will begin with students dreaming of eating their ideal spring salad by the last day of school. Working backward from that date, students will consider how long plants take to grow and which crops can grow in cooler spring temperatures in order to plan a garden planting schedule for the school!
Students will learn how “companions” are not only human relationships – some crops grow well together and are called “companion plants”! During this lesson, students will plant peppers, marigolds, and parsley together and learn why they grow best in combination.
(Winter Cooking Program) Tabbouleh – Cooking and Community
This lesson (2 of 2 in the Tabbouleh series) teaches students how to make Tabbouleh salad! Students work in groups to prepare this healthy Middle Eastern dish together.
In this herb lesson, students will follow tea from plant to cup. We will harvest mint together and then brew some delicious tea to share while discussing how herbs add flavor to our food.
The classroom closet (or other dark space) becomes much like the forest-floor growing environment in this lesson. Students will explore how mushrooms are decomposers that grow in damp, dark environments from spores using the class’s own oyster mushroom growing kit!
Tomatoes, Basil and Nasturtium grow well when planted together – not to mention taste delicious when eaten together. In this lesson, students will identify the correct bed and spacing within the bed, then transplant these three companion crops.
(Winter Cooking Program) Tabbouleh – Cooking and Community
This lesson (2 of 2 in the Tabbouleh series) teaches students how to make Tabbouleh salad! Students work in groups to prepare this healthy Middle Eastern dish together.
(Winter Cooking Program) Groundnut Stew- Cooking and Community
Students learn to make Groundnut Stew, an African recipe, during this lesson (2 of 2 in the Groundnut Stew series). They get to practice their nut-butter making skills as well as their oral tradition storytelling while the stew is simmering.
(Winter Cooking Program) Tabbouleh – Cooking and Community
This lesson (2 of 2 in the Tabbouleh series) teaches students how to make Tabbouleh salad! Students work in groups to prepare this healthy Middle Eastern dish together.
Students will learn how “companions” are not only human relationships – some crops grow well together and are called “companion plants”! During this lesson, students will plant peppers, marigolds, and parsley together and learn why they grow best in combination.
(Winter Cooking Program) Rice Noodle Salad- Cooking and Community
In this lesson (2 of 2 in the Rice Noodle Salad series), students will be busy preparing the fresh ingredients for the salad including grating carrots, preparing cilantro and tearing lettuce. Class will end with all groups adding their ingredients to the and sampling the Japanese-inspired combination of rice (noodles) and vegetables.
This early spring lesson chooses a “Spring Salad Day” late in the school year, and asks students to work backward to figure out what to plant and when to plant it in order to have a great salad on their chosen day.
Every good farmer likes to eat. In this lesson, students will taste the value of hard work as they harvest, clean, mix and eat school-grown salad with turnips, lettuce and sugar snap peas.
Using tape to create life-size garden beds in the classroom, students will figure out how many seeds they need to order to fill their beds. Measurement, sharing, and multiplication will come in handy during this lesson!
This lesson will begin with students dreaming of eating their ideal spring salad by the last day of school. Working backward from that date, students will consider how long plants take to grow and which crops can grow in cooler spring temperatures in order to plan a garden planting schedule for the school!
Students will learn how “companions” are not only human relationships – some crops grow well together and are called “companion plants”! During this lesson, students will plant peppers, marigolds and parsley together and learn why they grow best in combination.
Fertilizing Transplants – Peppers
Students will use a map to find the pepper bed, then learn how to transplant a seedling by identifying the necessary spacing, digging the correct size hole, gently placing the seedling in the soil, and watering the young plant into its new home.
During the course of this lesson, students will explore the ways in which indoor and outdoor growing climates differ as they prepare to “harden off” their seedlings. They will also make and add Compost Tea to their seedlings to give them a great start to their life!
During this lesson, students harvest tomatoes and peppers from the garden and learn that removing moisture from food helps to preserve it for a longer period of time. Two techniques – sun-drying and food dehydration – will be explored.
This lesson explores food transformations – there’s science in our food! Students will remove kernels from ears of corn and shake up heavy whipping cream to make butter. All will then listen for the “pops” as the corn heats in oil over the stove. Class ends with a popcorn and butter snack.
Learn how to use a spading fork, pruning shears, and your own hands to harvest fall crops such as tomatoes, carrots, and squash. We’ll also practice cleaning and storing produce properly.
(Winter Cooking Program) Rice Noodle Salad- Cooking and Community
In this lesson (2 of 2 in the Rice Noodle Salad series), students will be busy preparing the fresh ingredients for the salad including grating carrots, preparing cilantro and tearing lettuce. Class will end with all groups adding their ingredients to the and sampling the Japanese-inspired combination of rice (noodles) and vegetables.
This early spring lesson chooses a “Spring Salad Day” late in the school year, and asks students to work backward to figure out what to plant and when to plant it in order to have a great salad on their chosen day.
Pruning is important for many plants. In this lesson, students will learn how and why we prune raspberries, then practice on the school’s own raspberry bed in preparation for the spring’s delicious crop.
In this Farmer’s Cheese-making lesson, students will: practice reading a recipe, work as a team and practice table manners such as grace and courtesy. The end product will include polite students eating “classmade” cheese in table groups.
This early spring lesson chooses a “Spring Salad Day” late in the school year, and asks students to work backward to figure out what to plant and when to plant it in order to have a great salad on their chosen day.
Thin Turnips, Braise with Spinach
During this time of the growing season, it’s a good idea to pull out weaker plants to create room for strong ones to grow. Students will help to thin spinach and turnips, then braising these vegetables to create a light snack.
This lesson introduces students to cold-tolerant plants such as spinach that can be planted in the fall and survive throughout the winter. Students will work together to create rows, plant seeds and water.
(Winter Cooking Program) Native Foods – Cooking and Community
In this lesson (2 of 2 in the Native Foods series), students make either a Three Sisters Soup or Three Sisters Saute to explore how corn, beans and squash were and are an important food combination for native people.
Students will plant the second of the Three Sisters during this lesson – squash! Work will focus on identifying the sprouting corn plants (the first “sisters”), weeding around the corn, preparing the soil and consulting our Three Sisters planting diagram before planting and watering our squash seeds.
(Winter Cooking Program) Groundnut Stew- Cooking and Community
Students learn to make Groundnut Stew, an African recipe, during this lesson (2 of 2 in the Groundnut Stew series). They get to practice their nut-butter making skills as well as their oral tradition storytelling while the stew is simmering.
(Winter Cooking Program) Groundnut Stew – Food History
What in the world are Groundnuts? Find out in this lesson (1 of 2 in the Groundnut Stew series) and learn about how they are a staple in the African diet. The lesson ends by sampling class-made nut-butter! (Spoiler alert: Peanut-free option included.)
Amaranth, Sunflower and Borage are three flowers that grow well together and repel pests throughout the season for one another. What a great team! In this lesson, students will help to locate the correct bed, measure out spacing and transplant these flowers into the soil.
(Winter Cooking Program) Groundnut Stew- Cooking and Community
Students learn to make Groundnut Stew, an African recipe, during this lesson (2 of 2 in the Groundnut Stew series). They get to practice their nut-butter making skills as well as their oral tradition storytelling while the stew is simmering.
Not all plants grow from seeds! Removing a side shoot from a mature sweet potato plant, students will help to create a “slip”, placing the shoot in water to grow a new seedling sweet potato to plant in the garden.
In this Farmer’s Cheese-making lesson, students will: practice reading a recipe, work as a team and practice table manners such as grace and courtesy. The end product will include polite students eating “classmade” cheese in table groups.
(Winter Cooking Program) Tabbouleh – Cooking and Community
This lesson (2 of 2 in the Tabbouleh series) teaches students how to make Tabbouleh salad! Students work in groups to prepare this healthy Middle Eastern dish together.
(Winter Cooking Program) Groundnut Stew- Cooking and Community
Students learn to make Groundnut Stew, an African recipe, during this lesson (2 of 2 in the Groundnut Stew series). They get to practice their nut-butter making skills as well as their oral tradition storytelling while the stew is simmering.
In order to produce abundant, high-quality fruit (tomatoes!) we must prune our tomato plants. Students will learn how and why pruning is important by practicing on the tomato plants in their garden.
Fertilizing Transplants – Tomatoes
Students will use a map to find the tomato bed, then learn how to transplant a seedling by identifying the necessary spacing, digging the correct size hole, gently placing the seedling in the soil, and watering the young plant into its new home.
During the course of this lesson, students will explore the ways in which indoor and outdoor growing climates differ as they prepare to “harden off” their seedlings. They will also make and add Compost Tea to their seedlings to give them a great start to their life!
This lesson, like the above in process, teaches students to make a newspaper pot, fill with soil and plant tomato seeds to be germinated in the classroom.
During this lesson, students harvest tomatoes and peppers from the garden and learn that removing moisture from food helps to preserve it for a longer period of time. Two techniques – sun-drying and food dehydration – will be explored.
Learn how to use a spading fork, pruning shears, and your own hands to harvest fall crops such as tomatoes, carrots, and squash. We’ll also practice cleaning and storing produce properly.
This early spring lesson chooses a “Spring Salad Day” late in the school year, and asks students to work backward to figure out what to plant and when to plant it in order to have a great salad on their chosen day.
Every good farmer likes to eat. In this lesson, students will taste the value of hard work as they harvest, clean, mix and eat school-grown salad with turnips, lettuce and sugar snap peas.
Thin Turnips, Braise with Spinach
During this time of the growing season, it’s a good idea to pull out weaker plants to create room for strong ones to grow. Students will help to thin spinach and turnips, then braising these vegetables to create a light snack.
Planting Turnips, Using Row Cover
Safe tool use and teamwork will be practiced during this lesson as students prepare the soil and then plant Turnip seeds. After planting, students will learn how using row cover protects the seeds from cold and pests during the first few weeks in the ground.
Using tape to create life-size garden beds in the classroom, students will figure out how many seeds they need to order to fill their beds. Measurement, sharing, and multiplication will come in handy during this lesson!
This lesson will begin with students dreaming of eating their ideal spring salad by the last day of school. Working backward from that date, students will consider how long plants take to grow and which crops can grow in cooler spring temperatures in order to plan a garden planting schedule for the school!
(Winter Cooking Program) Tabbouleh – Cooking and Community
This lesson (2 of 2 in the Tabbouleh series) teaches students how to make Tabbouleh salad! Students work in groups to prepare this healthy Middle Eastern dish together.
(Winter Cooking Program) Tabbouleh – Food History
Learn all about the ingredients in the most popular Middle Eastern salad – Tabbouleh! This lesson (1 of 2 in the Tabbouleh series) introduces students to the process of grinding wheat into flour and discusses the value of eating whole grains.
Students will learn about domestication and the process of using a warren hoe to make a furrow in this lesson. By the end of class, students will also have planted and watered wheat seeds in the garden.
Threshing, Winnowing & Grinding Wheat
Students will take previously harvested, now-dry wheat and remove the seed heads from the stem. We will then explore a variety of flours made from different grains. Last, students will work together to grind the class’s wheat into flour.
In this lesson, students will harvest wheat and allow it to dry. We will also explore the history of wheat from hunter-gatherer societies through domestication to modern staple food-crop.
In this lesson, students will participate in cooking winter squash in a solar oven. Students will discuss how we can use the sun’s energy to cook food – and in this case, change starches into sugars. Once the squash has cooked, students will taste the sun-cooked treat.
Learn how to use a spading fork, pruning shears, and your own hands to harvest fall crops such as tomatoes, carrots, and squash. We’ll also practice cleaning and storing produce properly.