From Seed to Plant to Plate - and Back?

We have grown wheat in our garden for the last three years.  I originally got the wheat seeds at a meeting of the Manitoba Nature Action Collaborative for Children – MNACC for short. I didn’t know anything about growing or harvesting wheat but I thought it would look nice in the center of the raised beds – to contrast all the other plants — and it did.

 

In 2008 when we first planted wheat in our garden I didn’t really have any type of goal in mind, no lesson plan, no purpose other than growing something different in the garden. In the fall when we harvested the last of our vegetables we also collected all the wheat heads. I was actually thinking about using the wheat for crafts or decorations but first I let the children take some of it apart and examine it closely with magnifying glasses.

 

We did some research, identified all the parts of the wheat plants and what they were used for.  I even used my food processor to grind up some of the wheat and make – very coarse – flour.  And then, one of the preschoolers decided that we should use our new flour to make cookies!  So of course we did because that’s what child-led curriculum is all about.  Our very crunchy ‘wholegrain’ cookies were also very good according to the children.

In 2009 as we planted the wheat in the garden the children were already discussing how we would be using it in the fall.  They had big plans.  “This time”, they said, “we would be making muffins!”  I was more experienced too and used my coffee grinder to turn the wheat into flour – it does a much better job than the food processor.  The muffins were excellent.

 

2010 was a dismal year. Most of the summer had been cool and very wet.  Our garden produced little of value – several tomatoes, a few cucumbers, one zucchini, some inedible corn, kale that was eaten by something else and only a handful of wheat.  There would be no baking this year.

So, as I was contemplating what we would do for 2011 it occurred to me that the term ‘multigrain’ comes up often in our discussions about food and nutrition but what exactly does it mean? There are other grains besides wheat — maybe we should try to grow some other grains too.

This could be interesting but I wondered where in the city could I get a variety of grain seeds from?  I’ve never seen grain seed at any of the places that I purchase our vegetable seeds from. Spur of the moment I fired off an email to the agriculture department at the University of Manitoba explaining my dilemma and asking for suggestions.

The response surprised me.

They didn’t suggest a nearby farmer or a feed store or any type of ‘agriculture’ type place. They suggested the “Scoop N’Weigh” store on Taylor Ave (sorry, they don’t seem to have a website so I can’t link to them but now that I’ve been there I have to say that it is a totally awesome place). I was stunned.

Honestly, it had never occurred to me to go to a bulk food store to buy grain seeds.  I mean, I wanted seeds for my garden not seeds to eat!?!?! – OMG – For years have I been trying to get children to see the connection between our garden and the food we eat AND I COULDN’T SEE THIS!   Sigh.

This is the end of this post.  It’s not the end of this project – we’ve got some new grain seeds and we’ve begun some experiments but I still need some time to wrap my head around this new concept. I still can’t believe I didn’t see this – and part of me is still doubtful that the seeds will even sprout.  I still have some information to process.

Running & Jumping

OK, so the title is a little deceiving since in my small yard there isn’t really a lot of room for actual running.  However, we compensate by engaging in activities that require agility and precision.

Designing and traversing obstacle courses are favorite activities around here and the children are pros. The hoola hoops and traffic cones were reintroduced into the yard this week and the children were so excited.

First the cones were used alone

 

Then they combined them with other things

 

Of course there was the ever popular ‘no hands’ approach to the obstacle course

 

And ‘patterns’ from the decorator

 

Wonderful turn taking and follow the leader games

 

 

It has been a busy, active week outside in the yard and all I had to do was put out a few new items, stand back and take pictures.

Free & Loose

I planned to write a post first thing this morning before the children arrived but somebody desperately needed attention and so I abandoned my computer and paperwork.  Seriously – who could resist?

So now I have to spend my evening at the computer and hope that cat doesn’t show up again.


I’m an advocate of loose parts but I also need to be organized and sometimes those two things collide.  In the gravel area of the yard there are sticks and pipes, pinecones and pieces of bark, scraps of wood and other miscellaneous things.

Toys and other equipment are stored in bins in the deck box or the shed and brought out when needed.  The loose parts are always out – loose – hence the name.  This ever-changing supply of random items is strewn about the yard and sometimes makes it difficult to walk.

I find myself wandering around making arbitrary piles of unused things to get them out of the way and create walkways. I can’t really ask the children to ‘clean up’ because this stuff doesn’t have a spot where it belongs and besides, the mess is not bothering them.

Then, last weekend, as we were working on various projects outside my husband asks ‘What are you going to do with this?’ Oooh, I had forgotten about ‘that’ – A modular plastic cube thing that we picked up at the last Giveaway Weekend event.  I think it was supposed to be a desk at one time but I just thought the cubes might come in handy for something, sometime.  Until I could of a good use we just put them in the crawlspace and they’ve been there all winter.  Until now when I did this;

 

I don’t expect the children to keep it all neat and organized like this.  They will be free to move the pieces around the yard as they please.  Build with them. Dig with them. Whatever they need or want them for. But we can also put them somewhere when they are not being used and that will make me happy.  And maybe the children will like it too because the next time they are working on a building project and someone says ‘We need another small pipe’ they’ll know where to look first.

 

Interestingly though, when the children went out on Monday, the squeal and exclamation “Come. Look what happened – it’s amazing!” didn’t refer to my weekend organization.  It was in reference to the growth of the native plants on the hill.

 

Yes, Mother Nature is amazing.  That’s why we help her out by recycling. This weekend is another Giveaway Weekend.  I wonder what we might find.

Quick & Easy

I want to write a post but I’m a little short on time so it will have to be an ‘easy to write’ post.  I’ve got five loads of laundry in various stages of completion and I need to get paperwork organized for my re-licensing tomorrow.  I probably should have done some of this work yesterday but Mother Nature begged me to go outside and play so I did.

So what should I write about?  Yesterday’s yard work project is not yet complete and it will probably not be a short post so I won’t write about it now. I considered writing about our Mother’s Day crystal flowers activity but I’m still undecided if it was a ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ activity so I’ll have to do some more reflecting before I can write about that.

Wait, I just remembered that there was a request for a recipe and I haven’t emailed it yet.  A post about recipes would be easy and since it has been five months since I revamped the menu it is probably time for an update.

Some of the early favourites – like the Turkey Tetrazzini – from our new menu have begun to loose their appeal. It is not that the children don’t like them any more but rather, they don’t get excited and cheer anymore.  Many of the menu items receive mixed reviews – loved by some, hated by others.  This can be difficult since I cannot replace the menu item nor leave it on the menu without upsetting someone.

So, the requested recipe falls into this category since not all the children will eat it and others have been begging their mothers to make it at home too.  Some of the children don’t like ‘spicy’ food so this may be part of the problem but I actually consider the recipe to be quite mild.

Taco Soup

• 1lb ground beef (cooked and drained)
• 1 can mixed beans
• 1 can cheddar cheese soup
• 1 can tomato soup
• 1 ½ cups salsa (I use extra chunky extra mild)
• 4 cups water
• 2 tbsp taco seasoning
• 1 cup sour cream
• Chopped tortilla wraps

Mix first 7 ingredients together and bring to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer to blend flavours. Stir occasionally.  Add sour cream shortly before serving. Use chopped tortilla wraps instead of crackers or croutons.

I have to admit that this is probably my favourite soup recipe and it is so quick and easy.

Burgers & Fries

Yesterday the children engaged in ‘restaurant’ themed activities for most of the day.  It originated before school when the older children were still here.  I have a few pieces left from a themed playset that belonged to my own children when they were young.  The children use these toys together with miscellaneous other items for a wide variety of food related dramatic play activities.

This time they started making ‘McBurgers” and “McFries” – I’m not sure if they just created these names or if they are terms used at home but I’ve never heard them use the names before today.  I also noticed that the majority of the children chose customer roles leaving the workers scrambling to fulfil all the meal orders.  Usually when they play there are far too many cooks in the kitchen and there is considerable advertising required to attract customers – it is quite interesting.

After the older children left for school the remaining children – aged 2 to 5 – continued the game but now there were fewer customers so I was enlisted to play.  

I requested ‘healthy’ food and was quickly offered a salad. Upon opening my lunch box I was surprised to see meat and buns mixed in with the lettuce and tomatoes.  “Why is there a burger in my salad?” There were fits of laughter as the cooks replied “It’s not a burger, it’s a booger.” EWWww!  

Sorry, I can’t eat salad with boogers in it.  To compensate they offered me chocolate pudding, chocolate milk, chocolate ice cream and a chocolate donut which they said I could just lick the icing off – they know my weakness.

It was at this point that one of the children introduced a new role was and the building inspector showed up.  Personally I think maybe the health inspector was warranted but apparently I hadn’t made enough of a fuss about the food quality.

The building inspector brought his tools and did a thorough inspection before announcing that the restaurant must be closed immediately before the whole building collapsed.  There were so many issues that the only option was going to be to tear it down and build a new one.  

The back hoe driver arrived and there was a riot as restaurant staff made a desperate attempt to save their business.  A special meal was quickly prepared for the back hoe driver.  A coupon for a free movie ticket was included as extra incentive and the back hoe driver was convinced to join the other team.

Now out numbered the building inspector conceded defeat but he was definitely not happy about it.

We had a lot of fun.  I was interested to see the children initiate new roles into a familiar game.  However, I was a little disturbed by the corruption, conspiracy and use of bribery to get what they wanted.  So young to have this mastered already.  Makes me wonder what kind of an example we are setting for out children.

A Taste of Summer

Yesterday none of the school age children had classes so everyone was here for the full day and the weather was amazing.  The weather channel reported a high of 17° C but with the sunshine the thermometer in my back yard registered 22° C – beautiful. We spent all morning outside.

As usual there was a lot of ‘cooking’ going on since collecting items and making concoctions are very popular activities.  It was one of those days that I wish I had brought the video camera out since the ‘action’ is missing from the still photos.  The camera and I both have slow reaction times so what shows up in the pictures isn’t always what I was trying to capture. I spent a considerable amount of time observing the process involved in adding ingredients to this pot.

 

Fine motor skills were enhanced as pebbles were dropped one by one through the tube and into the pot.  It took more trial and error and a little frustration to discover why the ones placed in the bottom of the tube didn’t come out the top.

I miss the liquid component that we had in the concoctions this spring as the snow melted. I’m working on a plan to relocate one of the rain barrels to the gravel area so we can have a regular water supply.  I just have to move a couple of the big planters first.  Unfortunately I know from experience that the only thing harder than lifting them is sliding them through pea gravel and creating massive ridges.


While we were out in the yard we cleaned up the garden area a little and picked some weeds.  We found some plants that we couldn’t identify – probably weeds since there shouldn’t be any perennials planted here – but we thought were pretty so we left them to grow more.

 

On the hill the Yarrow and the Giant Hyssop are beginning to sprout.  I am so excited that they seem to be off to a great start.  I’ve managed to kill off many other plants even though I’d been told that they could survive in difficult situations.  Now I’m a believer in the power of native plants.

 

Of course we also engaged in some great gross motor activities outside too.  Running and jumping, ball games, hide and seek and tag.  My son joined us for a while and practiced some more Parkour moves and balance games.  While he tried to balancing on a piece of pipe one of the preschoolers observed and then modified the activity to suit his comfort level.

 

Today it is raining and there is a winter storm warning.  Some of the highways have been closed due to ice and snow.  We will remain optimistic.  We have had a taste of summer and we know it will be here – eventually.

Calendar Art

Fostering independence is one of the goals of my childcare program.  Many areas of my home are set up to allow the children to choose their own activity and take responsibility for cleaning up when they are done too. Sufficient time for unstructured play gives children the opportunity to demonstrate independence but structured activities have a place too.

In my home the sunroom is set up as an art area to be used independently throughout the day.  Mindy’s (the dog) kennel is also in this part of the house and direct supervision of the sunroom is not always possible.  For this reason independent play here is a privilege.

There is not a specific age by which children are suddenly able to play here independently and like all new skills there is a learning process.  To help teach these skills I use the sunroom for the majority of our structured activities like story, circle and calendar time.  Sometimes these structured activities become the basis a child’s independent play.

During free play time last week, a four year old was drawing independently in the sunroom.  Knowing she was fully capable of engaging in this activity without any assistance I was only occasionally checking in on her. On one of these random checks I noticed that she had put away all her art supplies and was now sitting beside Mindy’s bed.  I waited and watched to see what she would do next.

She used her newly created artwork – a calendar and an illustrated story – to lead a ‘circle time’ activity for the dog (who was thoroughly entranced).

 

She listed the days of the week and pointed to the corresponding coloured row for each day. She discussed upcoming special events and then flipped the page over and continued by explaining about various holidays.

 

She recited the alphabet including words and names that begin with each letter – just like we do at circle time each day.  Then she switched to the other paper and began ‘reading’ her story.

 

It was a long detailed story about her adventures with an owl that she befriended while out hiking through a forest.

 

Independent unstructured play offers a wonderful opportunity to observe and appreciate a child’s knowledge and understanding of the world.