The Orca K-8 School Garden Blog!

A parent donated many milk cartons recently because they dropped out of the milk carton derby race on Greenlake. These are a great reusable & recyclable resource to use for plant transplanting cups. We are gonna put some tomatoes in them next week.

So we set some tables outside w/ much tempera paint and got to painting in this glorious sunshine. Art & gardening outside- yes!

But first we read the great book- Sylvia’s Spinach.

This story tells of a student who dislikes spinach but after her class plants a garden, she grows some, and loves it! This could be any kindergartener’s story here. So after we read the story, we broke open some packs of spinach seeds and got to planting. After Sylvia grew spinach from seed, she appreciated it more. Could we be so lucky here at Orca? Maybe!

We also got the opportunity to paint some rocks in the garden too- these colorful additions provide a visible reminder not to step on the garden beds.

It was truly an amazing & interactive day in the garden on an incredible Spring day. We were even able to plant some kale starts that we grew from seed too.

Sometimes you gotta sit back and realize what an amazing program this is- hands on, experiential education & student engagement of the natural world. Experiential learning is the process of learning through experience, and is more specifically defined as “learning through reflection on doing”.

To see these kids faces when they come outside away from the florescent lights of the classroom- they are ready to breathe fresh air and of course get their hands incredibly dirty doing amazing work. We have transplanted over 1000 tomatoes in the last week, with more to come. I constantly remind the students that their hard work is gonna fill gardens around Seattle with fresh, local, and organic food. I can see the pride on their faces…

We planted starts in the garden that we grew in the greenhouse- lots of kales, greens, chard, and salad mix. We are all having visions of spring- a fever is in the air. Lets get to growin’!

Please support this amazing fundraiser for our friends Rainier Valley Foodbank by the Orca 8th graders! Tamara Guyton has been an active parent volunteer and awesome community member who does incredible cooking workshops & classes with students through the Orca Cooking Club. They will be using collard greens and chard from the garden!

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Tuesday, March 31st
6:30-8:30
Lakewood Seward Park Community Center
4916 S. Angeline Street
$10 pre-pay/$12 at the door
Under 3 years: free/Under 12 years: $5
Buy your tickets here: http://orcacookingclub.weebly.com/

Seating is limited to 60 people! Buy your tickets now!

The menu features comfort food: Adobo Chicken, Cornbread/Mashed Potato Muffins, Pasta with Roasted Vegetables, Texas Caviar, Tangy Orca Slaw, & Pineapple/Berry Upside-Down Cake. The menu is based on recipes that the students shared and we will focus on using local vendors to gather as many of the ingredients as possible.

When we were studying local vs. conventional food, it was a common misconception that local means organic. Anyone could spray chemicals/pesticides/fertilizers on their own local food garden. So we thought it would be important to be clear about exactly what organic is and what it does to soil. We used the fabulous Worms Eat Our Garbage classroom activities book to help us out. It has fun activities and the sheet we used really generated some good discussions and deeper understanding. Since the 5th graders are studying micro-worlds for their science unit, this was a nice garden connection.

It’s important to add another layer of depth to this discussion by getting into the soil, turning it over, and using some elbow grease to see, experience, and feel that organic Orca soil. Read this amazing article about the mind altering effects of soil on and in the human body.

3rd grade will be studying plant growth for their next science unit. We thought it would be great to have them plant a tomato seed, transplant the lil’ seedling, then monitor and watch it’s growth. They have been recording the data on the side of their 4″ pot. The coolest part may be that they will then take the plant home and hopefully enjoying the “fruits” of their labor. Unlike the classroom science kit for growing plants- this gives them a chance to enjoy the delicious part of the growing of plants.

How about this incredible springtime sunshine out here? The primary grades K-2 have been exploring the garden and discovering the first signs of spring.

To be outside, connect w/ nature, get artistic- these are what we pride ourselves on in the Orca garden. Garden education is above all about appreciation for the natural world. In a way we all become dormant in the winter and then emerge into the garden with excitement and wonder.

So we explored the first signs of spring w/ clipboards and pencils- then shaded them in w/ colored pencils. This kind of activity allows a freedom to explore what interests the child- a rare opportunity in public education for a kid to choose their own path and wander- without being lost.

The amazing Orca Plant Sale is back on May 9th, 2015 10am-3pm at Orca K-8 School . RSVP at our facebook event page. Share with everyone please!

We promise a great assortment of plants, shrubs, berries, natives, and more. We of course are doing a lot of growing here, but will have some incredible partnerships in our community to bring you everything your garden needs.

Cascadian Edible Landscapes
Go Natives Nursery
Rosebriar Garden
Readers To Eaters Books
and more!

We have completed our salmon life cycle art wall/comic book in the kindergarten hallway. This is a multi-grade collaborative art project w/ different classes doing different life cycle stages. We use some great resources for our salmon curriculum and learning, including The Salmon Box & The Columbia Spring’s Heroes Journey. Combining art & science produces wonderful results.

The salmon are looking absolutely amazing and will be released before Spring Break. We have kept the tank super clean & full of lots of good positive bacteria, so they are thriving!

Many activities and concepts are not easily explored through Seattle Public Schools science kits or Common Core standards. This is one such activity.

It’s always fascinating to explore the path of our food. There are a lot of hard truths there and students always are a bit surprised to visually see it plain and clear. This activity put the many steps of food production into a stack of cards that they have to arrange in the correct order. These cards and activity are from one of the greatest garden curriculum books of all time- French Fries & The Food System.

It was great to have a discussion about how Orca is an example of a local food system while we are drinking the mint tea we grew. Students also recognize that the food we eat here, the produce that is donated to the food bank, and the plants we donate to area schools are all part of this local food system.

Conventional food systems are part of a world wide problem that combines pollution, GMO’s, government food subsidies, and a complete disconnect from where our food comes from.