Upstairs Neighborhood
HARVEST FEAST 11/18/22
The air has been humming these past few weeks as the Upstairs Neighborhood children have been steeped in harvesting potatoes, hearing the story of the Three Sisters, and understanding the science behind why corn, beans and squash grow so well together. They’ve thought and written about all the things they are grateful for; like Debbie’s read alouds, their mom, their pets, and Randolph School!
Children have counted and sorted hundreds of 3 Sisters seeds including legumes, pepitas, and corn kernels. These seeds have spurred art work such as mandalas and spirals glued into multicolored designs. The children have cut pumpkins, onions, and garlic; added corn and beans; and carried a huge pile of firewood from the blacktop to the big cooking fire. Stirred the pot of Three Sisters Succotash on the fire. The smells sparked memories of cooking this recipe last year.
Then it was time to make apple crisp with the pounds of apples we received from Meadowbrook Farm. Cutting apples, mixing in cinnamon and other warm spices, and then forming the yummy crispy crumble for the topping. Kittens and Robins washed and separated pumpkin seeds from the stringy pulp, added oil, salt and pepper and popped them into the oven for a crunchy, salty addition to the school’s Harvest Feast menu.
They pried kernels of corn off the cobs and used the husks to make corn husk dolls. The colorful kernels of corn will be soaked and turned into bracelets in the near future. Jars were wrapped with yarn and leaf-rose bouquets were made for each of the 9 tables for Harvest Feast. The math, art, science, small motor skills, heavy lifting, writing, and working as a team your kids have done has been remarkable.
