Kitchen Garden Update

Kitchen

Over the past month, our Year 3 and 4 students have each enjoyed a 100-minute session in the kitchen, transforming produce grown in our school garden, along with other simple ingredients, into a delicious Italian-inspired menu titled ‘Facciamo la pasta!’

Each class divided into five kitchen groups, with students working together to prepare different parts of our shared meal. On the menu was lentil and mushroom bolognese with freshly made egg fettuccine, and a beautiful tromboncino zucchini and yellow tomato sauce with handmade orecchiette pasta. The tromboncino and yellow tomatoes were grown and harvested earlier in the year and frozen so they could be used when out of season.

Students had the opportunity to make two very different styles of pasta, learning how to roll and cut silky strands of fettuccine using a pasta machine, as well as shaping the little “ears” of orecchiette by hand.

Our final dish was a Salad of Your Imagination, giving one group each week, along with their adult helper, the freedom to experiment with ingredients, flavours and textures to create something of their own. Across the four weeks we saw a wonderful variety of salads featuring ingredients such as carrot ribbons, roasted sweet potato, feta cheese, toasted pepitas and dried cranberries. Some groups chose warm salads, others cold, some both, and, with support students experimented with creating their own salad dressings using olive oil, vinegars and flavourings such as mustard, garlic and tahini. Some classes even picked fresh herbs and edible flowers from the garden to garnish their salads.

For those kitchen groups lucky enough to have some extra parent help, there was even time to squeeze in a little baking! These groups made jam drop biscuits, using strawberry jam we had made earlier in the term.

An important part of our Kitchen Garden program is learning how to share and enjoy food together. At the end of each session, we came together around the table to taste all of the groups’ creations. This month we have been working on being willing to try new dishes, even when we aren't sure we will like them, and learning how to express our opinions about food respectfully. Students practised passing serving plates around the table until everyone had some food before tasting and then taking second helpings, making sure any extra food was shared fairly. It has been wonderful to see students growing in confidence, experimenting with new flavours, trying unfamiliar foods and enjoying produce grown in our own garden.

A huge thank you to our wonderful Kitchen Garden volunteers who generously give their time to work alongside our students. Having extra adults in the kitchen allows students to take on more ambitious cooking, receive plenty of hands on support and, occasionally, even fit in an extra batch of biscuits! We are incredibly grateful for your help and for the enthusiasm you bring to our Kitchen Garden sessions.

Garden

Our Year 3 and 4 students have also been busy in the garden, taking part in a range of hands-on activities as part of our five-activity rotation.

Students have been learning all about composting and worm farms, including getting up close to study our worms and discovering some fascinating facts about these amazing garden helpers. Did you know that worms have no eyes, ears or nose! Instead, special cells in their skin help them sense light and dark, which is why they prefer to stay hidden away from the light. Students also discovered that worms breathe through their skin rather than having lungs. Their skin needs to stay moist and slimy so they can absorb oxygen, which is why worms need to stay out of the hot, dry sun. Our school worm farms are producing lots of rich fertilizer that is used in our garden to keep the plants healthy and happy.

Other garden activities have included an Indigenous plant hunt and botanical drawings, encouraging students to explore the garden and take time to closely observe the plants around them. Students have also been learning to identify weeds and remove them safely using the appropriate tools. The weeds are then given to our chickens, who are always very excited to enjoy their weekly “weed feast”!

Some students have had the opportunity to make seed packets to take home. 3E prepared packets containing fennel, parsley and silverbeet seeds, giving students the chance to continue growing and learning at home.

All classes have also begun creating their very own recipe book covers. These will become the covers for their recipe books, which students will take home at the end of the year, filled with recipes from their Kitchen sessions.

And, of course, caring for our chickens remains a favourite garden activity. Students continue to learn about the responsibility involved in looking after animals and making sure our chooks have everything they need.

Chicken Sitters

Our chickens still need some love and care over the spring break! If you are available to help care for the chooks during the holidays, please sign up using the link below. We would be very grateful for your help.

Chantel and Allison