Farm to Preschool
Garden
Recipes
Carrot Raisin Salad
2 cups shredded carrots
1/2 cups raisins
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 glove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
In a large bowl, ass the carrots and raisins. To make dressing, combined all the other ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Pour the dressing over carrots and raisins, stir well. Chill and serve, enjoy.
Radish and Goat Cheese Salad
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6 cups of shredded lettuce
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1 cup sugar snap peas
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1 cup diced radishes
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2 tablespoons chopped mint
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Half cup goat cheese
Dressing
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3 tablespoons mustard
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2 tablespoons oil
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1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
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1 teaspoon honey
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salt and pepper to taste
Cucumber Dip with Pita Chip
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2 chopped cucumbers
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2 minced garlic cloves
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1 cup plain, low fat yogurt
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salt and pepper to taste
Guacamole with Kale Dip
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3 Avocados
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1 cup kale-finely chopped-stems removed
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1/2 cup minced red onion
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1 tablespoons olive oil
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2 tablespoons lime juice
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1tsp cumin
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1tsp garlic powder
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1 tsp onion powder
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2 tablespoons cilantro
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salt and pepper to taste
Week one was a success! We had such a great turn out for the first market. We are hopeful that it will continue to grow throughout the summer :)!
Hannah made a strawberry and spinach salad that went over surprising well. I was shocked to see so many children try it and like it. See the recipe below...
*4 Cups of fresh spinach
*1 cup sliced strawberries
*1 cup raisins
*2 tablespoons oil
*1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Some of our preschool classrooms came out to the market and sampled spinach. Their teachers showed them around the market and talked with them about the produce. It was a great experience for everyone :)
See you next week!
This week we planted our center garden! We planted broccoli, cucumber, rainbow carrots, lunchbox peppers, basil, cilantro, potatoes and kale. Each classroom will take turns watering and caring for our garden. This has been a great experience for our preschool and we are excited to watch it grow all summer!
Week 5/6
Potatoes
It has been super busy over here! We had a lot going on last week for the Week of the Young Child and I forgot to update this page. A little recap of what you missed... Last week in Farm to Preschool the children explored different types of potatoes: red skin, sweet potatoes and purple potatoes. To demonstrate how potatoes grow, Hannah had the children dig in a bin of soil to find the buried potatoes. The children enjoyed getting messy and finding different potatoes. Hannah gave each classroom a sweet potato in water which will grow roots and can then be planted. The final part of the lesson they tasted all three types of potatoes. I think it is safe to say that potatoes were a big hit in all sizes and colors :)!
Peaches -Our last lesson!
Our final Farm to Preschool lesson was bittersweet, we are sad to see it end but looking forward to planting everything in a few weeks.
This week we got to try some yummy fruits, peaches, plums and nectarines. It was hard for us to pick a favorite because they were all so good! We didn't plant a peach tree but we did do some fun activities. Hannah did an exercise with the children, they pretended to reach for peaches high up in a peach tree and put them in their basket. It was cute, and the children enjoyed it.
We will miss our Tuesday sessions with Miss. Hannah, the children gave her hugs and a card with all of their names printed on it.
We are looking forward to the next
part of this program. Thank you
again to Hannah for making this a
fun experience for all of us!
Week 4
Strawberries
Week Three
Spinach
The lesson started with Ms. Hannah playing a game with the children. The vegetable was placed in an opaque container and the children had to use only their hands to guess what it was. We had some interesting guesses, that ranged from sweet potatoes to strawberries. Once Ms. Hannah showed the children pictures of the different vegetables all the classes were able to narrow it down to spinach or lettuce. Next, they got to taste it!
Spinach is one of those vegetables that is usually a hard sell. For starters, it’s green, has a stem and an earthy taste. Once cooked with oil, garlic and salt and pepper or dressed nicely in a salad, it starts to grow on us. We had the pleasure of trying it in its natural state…. I was amazed to see so many children devour the spinach like Popeye (that reference went over their heads)! A few children said that it tasted like grass, which raised some questions. One child thought the spinach tasted like candy… I think we all wish we had her palate 😊. We did have children who refused, and others who took a small bite, but for the most part it was well received.
We ended the lesson with planting spinach seeds. Each child was given three tiny seeds to plant and care for. After each lesson the children bring the plants back to their classroom and are responsible for helping care for them. We were excited to see that some of our yellow squash plants were sprouting. We are excited for next weeks lesson!
Whenever we introduce unfavorable foods to children it helps to put them in something familiar. Below is a smoothie recipe that can be altered to your child’s liking, just don’t forget the spinach 😊!
The Incredible Hulk Smoothie
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1 cup almond milk (or other favorite milk)
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1 banana, sliced and frozen
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½ cup frozen pineapple, strawberries, or mango
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1 cup loosely packed baby spinach
Place all ingredients into blender and blend on high for 1 minute or until all the ingredients are combined and smooth. Serve immediately.
Cantaloupe
We had an exciting day yesterday! The Early Childhood Education and Training Program (ECETP) from Suny Albany recorded a Farm to Preschool lesson with some of our preschool classrooms. This lesson will be included in a webcast about supporting good eating habits. The kids were naturals in front of the camera, most of them didn't even notice they were being filmed. We will let families know when the webcast is available to watch.
This weeks Farm to Preschool lesson was about Cantaloupe. Cantaloupe was a big hit with the kids, almost all of them tried it and like it. We weren't too surprised by that, cantaloupe is a favorite at our center. The lesson consisted of observing, examining, tasting and planting cantaloupe seeds. Keep the lesson going at home...Ask your child to tell his/her favorite ways to eat cantaloupe.
We sent home a newsletter with some fun and tasty cantaloupe recipes to try at home. Don't forget to let them help :). Children who help in the kitchen are more likely to try foods that they prepare.
Thanks again to Hannah and our Preschool staff!
Week Two
Week One
Yellow Squash
We kicked off Farm to Preschool with a lesson about yellow squash. The children used all five senses to explore this vegetable. This was the first time that many of the children have heard of squash, it was often mistaken for a banana, lemon or yellow pepper. Even though many of the kids were first timers, they still tried it or at least touched it and I was shocked to see some of them eat all of it.
The children passed around a whole squash and one that was cut in half. They were asked to use their senses to examine the squash. For example, they were asked how it felt. Many of them said cold, hard, and like a squash. Some said it felt squishy and while squash isn’t usually squishy, by the last group this one had been handled by 100 preschoolers…let’s just say it had seen better days 😊.
Ms. Hannah passed around the pieces of raw squash for them to eat and explained to them that they didn’t have to try it if they didn’t want to. She encouraged them to say, “no thank you” and refrain from calling the squash “gross”. They did an excellent job and almost all of them did try it.
We ended the lesson with planting squash seeds. Each child was able to plant their own squash plant. These will be brought home or transplanted into our center garden. The children loved this part of the lesson and are excited to water the plants every day in their classrooms.
We also discussed our favorite fruits and vegetables. We had a variety of responses… from the obvious; apples, grapes, banana's…to the not so obvious; chicken nuggets, frosted mini wheats and pepperoni pizza!
We must give a shout out to Ms. Hannah, she taught 7 lessons back to back to 107 preschool children today, thank you!
Next week’s lesson is on cantaloupe…
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