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Sturgeon Bay Fourth Graders Harvest Their Crops
By Steve Allen - Sponsored by Lakeshore Motorsports LLC
Oct 5, 2011 - 9:00:00 AM
The kids learn how to make apple juice with volunteer John Kierstyn.
Every student had a turn at the apple press!
Remember our story last spring about the third graders who planted their gardens as a class project? The kids are now fourth graders. Read the previous story here.
Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin's 4th grade classes from all of that city's schools returned to the Peninsular Agricultural Research Station on October 4th to harvest the crops they planted last spring. This field trip project for the kids is sponsored each year by Door County Master Gardeners, a volunteer organization of folks who know a lot about plants!
It was a gorgeous autumn day when 107 young growers went to work just like any farmer or home hobbyist would. There were parsnips and onions to pull out, carrots and potatoes to dig out, corn to be ground, beans to be shucked, and myriad other tasks. The kids learned that the remaining vegetation is dragged over to the compost pile, and they did so.
Learning by doing was the overall theme of this experience. Teachers can lecture, model, and demonstrate 'til the cows come home. But when students get hands-on (and in this case, hands-dirty) contact with the subject matter, retention is enhanced and enjoyment reigns supreme. What a thrill to see how a little seed is transformed in a few short months to a big ol' edible food item!
Volunteer Carl Scholz helps a student learn how to remove ears of corn from the stalk.
Volunteer Sarah Freyman shows the kids one of the carrots they grew.
"Children need experiences like this," explained volunteer Carl Scholz, retired educator and long-time FFA (Future Farmers of America) advisor in the Sevastopol School District. "Today they're involved and they see the results of the planting they did - and that's great."
Of course not all the harvest was directly produced by these kids, as in the example of the apples. But last spring and today, the kids took a ride on the wagon to see the various apple and cherry trees on the Research Station property. They saw firsthand what's involved in growing plants or trees that take more than one season to grow.
At the apple press was volunteer John Kierstyn, having each child take a turn at the two-step process of pressing apples into juice. "It doesn't get any fresher than this, kids", he reminded them with a big smile, as liquid poured out into a large bucket.
"We grew these!"
In the garden, docents and volunteers from the Door County Master Gardeners helped the students reap their rewards. They explained a little bit about the "pest" issues of growing a garden, since the kids were not around when wildlife such as deer and rabbits often emerged to take nibbles during the summer. Holding up a marigold flower, Sarah Freyman taught a good lesson: "The nasty smell of the marigold helped keep the bunnies out of your garden".
Among the other adults helping to make this event a big success were Lee, Martha, Phylis, Karen, Jan, Pat, Kerry, Kathie, Cathey, Gavin, Dick, Sandie, Carol, Kathy, and Chriss, to name a few.
Every student went back to school with a bag of veggies to enjoy with their family at home.
Now sit back, relax, crank up your computer speakers, and enjoy a short video about this event! Watch for the surprise that the kids found as they went digging for potatoes!
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