5th Grade

2020-2021

WEEK 26: INCORPORATING NIGHTSHADES AND MINTS

Due to COVID the in-person classes aren't going to be able to make salsa like we usually would ---however YOU can at home. As you know from studying Spanish salsa literally means SAUCE. Sauces using fresh ingredients -- especially aromatic herbs and alliums (garlic and onions) you cannot go wrong. Do you have a family sauce? Students at school have planted Tomatoes and some companions -- but we do not have tomatoes yet -- not enough time. So we are doing a tasting of some different tomatoes from farms: Heirlooms tomatoes look different than the typical red tomato. They also have different flavors. If you go to one of the local farmer's markets (CLICK HERE FOR A LIST) they often have many different types of tomatoes. Do a taste of some different tomatoes...then begin doing research for your sauce -- some tomatoes may taste better with different herbs, spices...combine and see. Perhaps you didn't like the flavor of tomatoes plain but you love them with salt and pepper -- or with a leaf of basil. Roasting can add new flavor too. Decide if your sauces is hot or cold.

Here is a simple recipe for SALSA CRUDA or PICO DE GALLO:

  • 2-3 tomatoes chopped

  • 1/2 onion finely chopped

  • 1-2 garlic cloves minced

  • 1 jalapeno remove seeds and mince

  • 1/2 bunch cilantro chopped

  • 1/2 lime juiced

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and add salt and pepper to taste...serve on chips, beans, tacos! CLICK HERE to share your family sauce for the Birney Recipe Book! Let me know any feedback about this recipe on FLIPGRID


WEEK 25: MONARCHS AND MIGRATION

Monarch butterflies are remarkable migrators! Many students at Birney have seen the Monarchs in one or more of their stages of life: as a butterfly, caterpillar, or chrysalis. Some students have even spotted a tiny butterfly egg on the milkweed plant! You can help the Monarchs by planting some milkweed in your garden, or growing flowering plants that help to feed the adult butterflies.

In the spring, Monarchs were beginning their migration back into the more northern parts of the United States and Canada. Sadly, the Monarchs are in trouble and their population has dropped by 90% in the past 20 years. Because of this, Monarchs might become listed as an endangered species. Click here to read an article about how some farmers are helping, and think about ways we can all help as well!

How does this connect to our unit on Migration? When you look at the Journey North website (click here ) you can see the remarkable journey they make over such varied terrain to arrive to do their lifecycle. We have studied the connection of the butterflies returning to Mexico during Dia de los Muertos ---and there is also a connection to the migration of people to the north. Migrants to the United States and Canada from the south see Monarchs as a hopeful symbol of survival – and also a recognition of the challenges of that long grueling journey.

To connect this idea further you can read this story: https://reynagrande.com/a-migrants-story/


Monarchs are around right now! Take a Monarch CENSUS! A census is a count – knowing how many people live in a community. Since monarch habitats are threatened – it is helpful for us to know how many are around and compare these numbers from year to year. You can use this sheet as a reference: MONARCH MAGIC COLORING SHEET to count how many you see – challenge yourself to find a caterpillar, even an egg, a chrysalis. MONARCH CHYSALIS VIDEO

Monarchs teach us about transformation. As you observe these insects who have figured out how to survive in many different places --- wonder about the way they adapt and cycle. Their needs are simple –milkweed plants as eggs and caterpillars and flowers as adults. This is the migrant’s experience – adapt and survive. We have done a lot o ADAPTING and SURVIVING this year. Share something about this connection to monarchs on FLIPGRID: MONARCH FLIPGRID

WEEK 24: BACK TO BASICS -- COMPOSTING:

Students at school are helping to get the garden ready for summer crops -- which we usually would have done in February and March. This last year is different. We adjust! That is what nature does -- ADAPT.

SOIL is the focus of organic gardening -- especially here in this San Diego climate where we always have some amount of sunshine, the temperatures are mild, so we can grow ALL YEAR LONG. If we build our soil with COMPOST - our soil gives more nutrients to plants and ALSO helps the ground hold the water. Good compost makes soil like a sponge -soaking up and holding on to the water! This week is INTERNATIONAL COMPOST AWARENESS WEEK Check out the poster to the right that a high school student made!

You are invited to do the following projects this week:

ALSO

  • Harvest of the month for April (and the beginning of MAY) is LOQUATS. Garden Webpage info here: Loquat Info Help our Birney Family find the LOQUATS in your neighborhood! Put the nearest address into this this google form: LOQUAT LOCATOR FORM and I will help map it - check back to see the LOQUAT LOCATOR MAP!

WEEK 23: FIRST GARDEN LESSON SINCE SPRING BREAK

How are you doing? Have you been doing any gardening or looking out for things in nature?

Here are a few things I encourage you to keep your eye out for:

  • LOQUATS - You can read more about this month's HARVEST OF THE MONTH at Birney: CLICK HERE They are ripening all over. See how close to where you live you can find LOQUATS!

  • Monarch Butterflies are about. If you see butterflies, there are likely caterpillars about. Do you know which plant to look on? MILKWEED

  • For gardeners and farmers summer crops should be in the ground. Would you like to plant some herbs or NIGHTSHADES -- like tomato plants? I have some plants started so if you need one for use at home, let me know.

  • STANDBY for Ms. Mindy's OFFICE HOURS coming soon!!

WEEK 22: FORAGING - AND EATING OUR WEEDS

Did you ever think a weed could be something you can eat?

We learned a great song about it from the Formidable Vegetable Sound System !

And today we learn about Urtica Dioica or Stinging Nettles or in Spanish Ortiga. I tell you because it is growing everywhere after the rain and though many people are turned off by the way it stings you -- it is one of the signatures of SPRING is here AND it happens to be one of the most nutritious plants that volunteers in the garden. So--- we will try to make a pesto without getting to stung up and learn to eat our WEEDS!

Nettles is growing around at Birney too! Other weeds we can eat include Nasturtium - our March Harvest of the Month.

WEEK 21: THE IMPORTANCE OF WATER TO OUR BODIES

After talking about digestion and microbiology -- and about the importance of fiber -we circle back to an important component for ALL LIFE -- WATER. All life needs water. Do you drink enough water? How much is enough water to drink every day?? There is a range depending on your diet and your physical activity -- but the recommendation is around 6 glasses of water a day. How are you doing on your water? Some times the liquids we drink are not water...like caffinated beverages or sugary drinks. These drinks can counter the good qualities of water and leave us more dehydrated.

Water is life and we live in a region that uses more water than is naturally available - which for farming and gardening means that we have to consider how to conserve even more water. What are some strategies to conserve water that you have learned about?

WEEK 20: STAYING FIT WITH FIBER

Today we are literally investigating how processed food works in tour GUT versus WHOLE FOODS. Just because an apple doesn't have a "label" does that make it less healthy? Does a label tell us all the things we might want to know about food? Inquiry minds investigate what is possible to know! Find an item with a label in your house. OR if you are even more adventurous -- look up the information for something that you have in your house without a label --- like an APPLE using this link: online produce website . What is the end result of our RELAY? Is FIBER important in our diet??

Read this article about how healthy fiberfilled foods can reduce anxiety:

foods that reduce anxiety


WEEK 19: YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

We come back full circle -- it repeats....from the microbes in our soil back to our own human GUTS.

Today we take a tour in our digestive tract and think about the connections.

Next week I will be virtually doing a demonstration of a lesson on FIBER -- so this week we will prepare for this adventure...because if we don't have help digesting that celluose and other roughage, how will we get the nutrients?

WEEK 18: SOIL - THE SOIL FOOD WEB -- TEEMING WITH MICROBES

Do you need to see things to believe it? It certainly helps a lot of us believe. Now that we have great new technologies to visualize this microlife - we can see all the food web. And it is this web that helps us thrive -IF we take care of it. Let's meet some of these organisms with a mini tour and then I will invite you to make some pixilart based on your favorite one you saw. Here are some cool animations made out of clay as an inspiration!


WEEK 17: SOIL - NUTRIENTS FOR PLANTS....AND THINKING ABOUT FERTILIZER

As we begin to look further into this table of nutrients the question that keeps coming up is: How do we get these nutrients to plants? Fertilizers give N-P-K readings about what they provide -- However - there is an old addage about tending the garden for organic gardeners :

FEED THE SOIL AND NOT THE PLANT

And as we learn more about soils -- there is a lot we are tending that is alive in a teaspoon of soil - so adding fertilizers can actually be damaging to the microscopic organisms in the soil environment in addition to many more down stream. Here's a video we watched about watershed contamination and covercrops.

WEEK 16: SOIL -- NUTRIENTS AND THE ELEMENTS PART 1

Today we begin a journey into understanding the alphabet of science -- the periodic table (click HERE to hear that nerdy song again) -- and how these elements relate to soil and plants. Guess what it is connected to WATER too! So today we explore pH and a fun home way to measure this along with reviewing some soil tests we did in 4th grade....that we will now take to a deeper level. The pH of water and soil impacts the availability of soluable nutrients that plants need. As you can imagine all the soil interactions change pH including the human ones of adding chemicals to our gardens. Today we will start thinking about that. To test pH we will use a simple testing procedure that you can do at home...you will need Distilled Water and Purple Cabbage (you could try one of the other dye plants that have these reactive colors as show to the right). We tested a few kitchen items, like baking soda and vinegar --- they will help us know our range. Then we will test some samples from Ms. Mindy's garden and San Diego Water. Were you surprised by the results? I am glad we can at least do this on ZOOM.

If you happen to use only part of your purple cabbage - perhaps you can join the 4th graders in making fermented cabbage (kimchee, curtido, saurkraut). CLICK HERE FOR FOURTH GRADE PAGE


REQUEST SEEDS USING THIS FORM: SEED REQUEST FORM

WEEK 15: MORE ON SEEDS AND GARDEN PLANNING

This week we are thinking about all the components that we need to evaluate when planning out our garden. I want to have your request for seeds before Friday distribution -- so hopefully you can use these concepts to help you:

  • Seasonal crops

  • Companion plants

  • Space AND spacing

  • Soil Type/nutrient requirements


Here are some links to think about PLANNING your garden that may inspire you to add some more seeds to your request list!


WEEK 14: KINDNESS WEEK! SEEDS!

This week we returned to a discussion about SEEDS. Farmers and gardeners in our northern hemisphere are looking over seed catalogs and planning out their summer crops. We can do this too... And like the farmer Kristyn Leach said in the video we watched about SEEDS (click HERE to watch again) - we can select things that we would be sad not to have -- things we want to eat. What will you choose? Browse one or more of these seed catalogs:

Peaceful Valley Seeds

Seed Savers Exchange

Botanical Interest Seeds

Kitazawa Seeds

Tell me what you want to grow using this form here:

SEED REQUEST FORM and I will see if I have your seeds for you to deliver through our materials distribution!

WEEK 13: WELCOME BACK FROM WINTER BREAK!

Back to ZOOM GARDENING -- and since it is your last year in GARDEN, I am looking for some feedback about how we might spend this time together. If you didn't take the time in class to share your thoughts, please do so now:

GARDEN CLASS SURVEY

This week we also began to explore the world of FUNGI and specifically Mushrooms. Mushrooms come out during the more damp season and represent a KINGDOM of organisms we have not given enough attention to! Check out this short video about mushrooms!

Don't forget to share your KUMQUAT taste on FLIPGRID -- our BIRNEY HARVEST OF THE MONTH

WEEK 12: SHARING OUR HEALTHY SNACKS

Your classmates shared some convincingly delicious healthy snacks. They fit into five groups -- either a snack featuring a Vegetable, Fruit, Protien or Grain --- or an amazing meal combination! We talked about some good strategies:

  • Wrap it

  • Smoothies

  • Dips

Remember to try to include 2 groups for a snack! See if you can take some of the tools we discussed to mak e your own healthy snack during the break! Make a cool name for it and add it too the Birney Recipe Book

WEEK 11: (WEEK 10 WAS THE NUTCRACKER) HEALTHY SNACKS!

This week we will start our contest to have a few of you in each class present a healthy snack recipe during NEXT week's zoom. I will evaluate before next week and contact your teacher to tell you WHO is selected to present. UP to 3 students will have a chance to present a healthy snack "how to" with some reasoning of why it is healthy AND yummy. Show your persuasion!

Here is the link for the GOOGLE FORM for entries. Be sure to list your teacher, and give me a good idea of your snack!

Healthy Snack Idea

Lesson_Advertising_All_Around_Us_p8.pdf

WEEK 9: PERSUASION

What sells something? What makes you want it? Using some of the strategies suggested on this sheet (to the right) convince me that I should try something YOU liked in the garden. You can make a visual appeal, tell a story....then share it with me on FLIP GRID using this link:

https://flipgrid.com/d7830077


WEEK 8: OUR FOOD SYSTEM: All of our food that we eat is part of a supply chain -- among the processes involved here are some key pieces:

GROWING

HARVESTING

PACKING

PROCESSING

DISPOSING/ COMPOSTING .

TRANSPORTING.

MARKETING

EATING

WEEK 7: Checking in on our MINT PROPAGATION -- and beginning to think about HOW WE EXPRESS OURSELVES.

NOTICE Nature around you! Three ways you can work on connecting with NATURE and EXPRESSING YOURSELVES

  • Collect some fallen natural objects and make some “Ephemeral Art” like we did in First Grade

  • Explore the endangered species in San Diego County and create an art piece to ENTER the San Diego ZOO Art Challenge ZOO ART CHALLENGE INFORMATION

  • Share what you are noticing around you and if you are able your art or plans for art on PADLET CLICK HERE

NOTE: Come to the MATERIALS PICKUP, Friday, November 6th, between 1-2p. Ms. Mindy wil have:

  • Mint Family Cuttings including peppermint, basil, lavendar, oregano, sage

  • Sweet potato cuttings

  • Soil/containers (optional)

WEEK 6: OUR PLANT FAMILIES: Nightshade and Mint

This week we discussed our two plant families Nightshade and Mint. Most nightshade plants that you may be familiar with (tomato, pepper, eggplant) are crops that grow in the warmest season (Summer) and we plant in the Spring. Therefore, this week we focused on the MINT (or Laminacae) Family. This family includes many plants -- here are a few: Peppermint, Spearmint, Sage, Basil, Oregano, Thyme, Lavender. The wonderful thing about these plants is they grow easily from a cutting - so Ms. Mindy went through how to propagate mint family plants from a cutting.

For this week see if you can find a mint family plant to make a cutting and put it in water.

  • Notice the mint family plants that you eat

Remember they are aromatic and medicinal

  • Follow this link for futher explorations about the mint family:

MORE INFORMATION on Mint Family


WEEK 5: WHITE BUFFALO CALF WOMAN

This week we read the story from the Lakota People about the White Buffalo Calf Woman giving the people the peace pipe. The lessons in this story are about interconnection -- living responsibly.

INVITATIONS:

  • Come to Birney and walk the “timeline” of life on earth (up NOW at Trolley Barn Park and joint use field)...reflect on how short humans have been on earth - in comparison to other living things by reading and walking this timeline.

  • Honor the indigenous people of this land by learning more about the local tribes: KUMEAAY HISTORY

  • What would it mean to live for the SEVENTH GENERATION for you? Are their some choices you would make differently? Discuss with your family and others.



WEEK 4: WATER! To honor INDIGENOUS PEOPLE for INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S DAY (OCTOBER 12TH) we are talking about a limited natural resource: WATER! Water is an important resource for Agriculture in San Diego in addition to an important aspect for all our lives. During this week here are some additional activities you can do around water:

  • How much water do you drink? People are encouraged to drink 6-8 glasses of water a day. Of course during this heat wave it is very important to drink additional water if you are out and about and losing more water from sweating/physical activity. Track your water habits. If you think you could benefit from drinking a little more water can you think of a way to increase your water?

  • Notice irrigation and how much water use for plants in your surrounding community. Learn about water conservation tips HERE

  • Learn more about Amaranth - our Harvest of the Month: CLICK HEREZ

WEEK 2-3: TRASH WEEK --do three activities and get a COMPOST BINGO!


compost choice board 2020.docx

WEEK 1: Getting oriented to GARDEN on ZOOM: WELCOME BACK! This week we talked about our plant families...some of you may have come to pick up a BIRNEY POMEGRANATE -- if you didn't get one and you want to get one, contact Ms. Mindy (see the page footer). More information about pomegranates on my HARVEST OF THE MONTH PAGE: HERE

HOMEWORK: WHERE IS THE SUNLIGHT IN YOUR HOME?

Today in Garden Class we talked about that soon I will be giving you seeds to take home. You will be growing them in a sunny window in your house. This spot needs to have at least 6 hours a day of direct sunlight. Can you draw a map of your space and where your plants can grow? Do you remember your directions? (North, South, East, West)