10/28/15
11/18/15
10/7/15
(Videos are private and can only be viewed on this site.)
DIRECTIONS:
1. Chop apples into chunks.
2. Put apples in a large bowl or baking dish.
3. Squeeze orange juice on apples, toss until the fruit is coated and smooth over the top.
4. Roughly chop pecans, hazelnuts, raisins and dried cherries.
5. Add spices and salt to the nut mixture
6. Spoon the nut mixture over the apple mixture and serve.
INGREDIENTS:
4 Honeycrisp apples, cored and chopped
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
¼ cup dates
¼ cup dried cherries
¼ cup raisins
3/4 cup pecan halves
3/4 cup hazelnuts
¼ tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Raw Apple
Crisps Recipe
We most recently made Raw Apple Crisps, which were delicious! The students were excited because they rarely get to make a dessert, but it is important to show them that we can make desserts that are not only healthful, but delicious too! And from what I remember, there weren’t many thumbs down for that recipe! Cooking class is a time for them to get a little messy while exploring their food. They have become pros with their knives, are willing to try new things, and are just happy to have an opportunity to cook a delicious snack. For me, I love this class because we can have fun, but also open their eyes to new things while teaching them healthful eating habits.
-Ms. Rachel
Students come to the garden every day asking if it is their turn to have cooking class. It is a fun and beloved class at Rockdale, and Mrs. Zimmerman’s class is no exception. Her students come in ready and excited to cook. As fourth graders, and their third year in the program, they have it down and are more than happy to participate.
-Ms. Rachel
The next month, we learned about food webs and created a human food web after handing out identity cards (think hawk, worm, tomato plant, sun, etc). Last month, we extended our knowledge on food webs by focusing on words like predator, prey, herbivore, carnivore, omnivore, producer, and many more before going out into the garden and playing food web Bingo. It was great watching students deduce why they couldn’t be carnivores (though many of them raised their hand saying they were) and trying to find different examples throughout the garden. I was very impressed with their knowledge about what different bugs and animals ate, as many groups were able to fill their whole cards to get black out Bingo!
-Ms. Rachel
In fourth grade, we focus on ecosystems. In the first lesson, the students identified what an ecosystem was and then we focused on the living and nonliving components before going out into the garden to explore.
-Ms. Rachel
12/2/15
GARDENING & COOKING WITH MS. RACHEL
"To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow."
-Audrey Hepburn
Hi everyone! I am the garden teacher at Rockdale VAPA Magnet. I am a Service Member with FoodCorps, a nonprofit in the AmeriCorps umbrella that focuses on garden education paired with food and nutrition. I serve with Garden School Foundation which is a nonprofit that partners with Title 1 elementary schools to implement their Seed to Table curriculum. This is the fourth year that FoodCorps and GSF have partnered with Rockdale VAPA Magnet.
I must say, I have a pretty wonderful job. I get to teach students like yours, outside every day. I get to watch them explore the garden to learn about the world around them while applying it to their science lessons. I get to cook with them and watch them try new foods (some of which they declare to HATE) and be surprised when they love them. It is a constant joy to see your children growing, learning and tasting week after week.