The Citizen Farmer: Breaking Boundaries and Building Healthy Communities

SEPTEMBER UPDATES:

Kid Power students and participants from Independent School are very excited about their upcoming projects!

Kid Power students have just begun their weekly trips to Sidwell Friends School and Georgetown Day School.

They introduced their project and  started on their environmental science workbooks.  

Student leaders from GDS and Sidwell Friends were instrumental in planning out the curriculum to be implemented during the after-school program. They are also working with our staff to design cooking projects and new gardens to be installed in the Spring.

The photo to the right shows a student examining what crops are left over from the Summer Harvests as they try to harvest everything to plan for Fall Crops! The photo is of an Icicle Radish!

OCTOBER UPDATES:

Students completed lessons about ecosystems and how to measure the healthy of an ecosystem.  

Each lesson required students to complete reading comprehension lessons and hands -on activities outside.

For example, students from Tubman Elementary School and their mentors from Sidwell Friends participated in a community trask pick up after they learned about ecosystems and the importance of protecting them (see photo)

Students were also introduced to small roof top gardens at Sidwell and worked with their mentors to garden together!

NOVEMBER UPDATES:

Students continued to make progress on their workbooks and learned about how ecosystems change due to to nature and human action.

Students also participated in two community markets where they talked about their Veggie Time program and sold produce from their school gardens. (see photo)

Students raised $100 and plan to use the money for a MLK Service Day project!

DECEMER UPDATES:

Students and their mentors winterized existing gardens by  planting winter poppies and other cover crops.

Students continued to work on academic lessons and learned about the the food chain and photosythesis! 

Students also worked on composting and worm bins!

Lastly students from all sites had wonderful holiday parties where they cooked together, wrote cards, and even got to see a mentor in a Santa costume! (see photo)

Thanksgiving and Holiday Parties

Kid Power used some Fall Harvest to prepare feasts for students and their families! We used collard greens from our gardens to make a delicious collard green and turkey bacon entree! We also used parsnips, turnips, and radishes for casseroles and other sides. All left -overs were sent home with families. Students are working to put some of the top recipes in their end of the year cookbook! 

The photo shows Kid Power staff serving youth and their families all of the fixings! It was amazing to see student leaders able to articulate the benefits of eating their vegetables. The students were so proud to show their siblings how they were eating vegetables that they helped grow. 

FALL SUMMARY!

Kid Power is concluding the Fall semester with the following outcomes:

In total, 80 Elementary School students and  100 high school mentors have completed 19 enviromental science lessons which required students to complete reading comprehension lessons and hands -on activities outside.

Students and their mentors completed over 100 hours of gardening activities and 20 hours of service-learning activities.

Students spent a total of 100 hours participating in cooking lessons and cooking classes. In addition to learning kitchen safety and knife skills, they were able to cook for each other and their families! They made:

•homeade lasage
•baked chicken nuggets
•spinach smooties
•hummus
•and much more!
Students also worked on service learning projects focusing around hunger and homlessness issues in DC. They listened to three different guest speakers (see photo to the right) and even participated in the mini "Walk for the Homeless" with Salli Mae. As the photo demonstrates, students are very much engaged in learning about ways to help their communities!

Lastly, students at Sidwell Friends and Georgetown Day School have been working with Elementary and Middle School students from Tubman Elementary and Ft. Davis Recreation center to learn that excercise can be both important AND fun. A total of 40  Kid Power youth and 40 Sidwell and GDS youth have participated in 20 hours of sports related activities together.

Students are getting excited for the Spring semester and planting Spring crops!

JANUARY UPDATES:

Kid Power students and their mentors returned to program to participate in the MLK DAY OF SERVICE! They made PSAs around the importance of eating healthy vegetables and around fitness! They also made cards reminding people to partipate in acts of kindess in memory of MLK (see photo!) 

Students just began their nutritional chapter of their environmental science workbooks!

FEBRUARY UPDATES:

Students completed lessons on various fruits and vegetables and learned about the benefits of specific nutrients!

Mentors also learned more advanced concepts to help teach younger Kid Power students, stuch as molecular gastronomy!

This month, students made homemade chocolate for Valentines Day!

Students and their mentors shared a special snack they made together for Valentines Day....homemade trail mix! See photo.

MARCH UPDATES!

What a fantastic month for healthy eating! Students are really starting to embrace their role as leaders and educators to spread the importance of healthy living !!  It is phenomenal to see them share what they are learning.  Students held community cooking nights that were attended by parents and siblings of their schools. We had over 50 attendees at one school and almost ran out of food! Student leaders voted on what they wanted to cook and serve. Various sites choose different recipes including: vegetable quesadillas, healthy chicken tenders, and spaghetti with turkey meatballs! 

Students also celebrated Easter by learning to make hard-boiled eggs. They made "egg heads" with the hard-boiled eggs and vegetables. See photo.

What a busy month for gardening! Students helped build three additional garden beds and maintained over 10 garden beds. They planted crops (radishes, peas, squash, basil, and more!).  

Lastly, students are gearing up for Global Youth Service Day. They have started weekly meetings to discuss their projects for April. Stay tuned!

Learning About Alternative Energy!

As part of their academic lessons, Kid Power students learned about the importance of alternative energy. They then worked with mentors at Sidwell Friends School and Volunteers from Howard University to contruct their own mini solar ovens. Using just pizza boxes, foil, saran wrap, scissors, a little tape and a lot of sun, students made their own melted smores! 

See: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/edit/a.358497270863085.80268.157466234299524/

APRIL UPDATES!

What a busy month for gardening, cooking, environmental stewardship, and service! Students continued working with this high school mentor and are almost finished with their school -year environmental science workbooks. Lessons this month focused on practical ways that we can all help our environment. Students completed lessons on the "three 'R's: Reduce, Reuse. Recycle" with their mentors and then created posters of these concepts. Many of the elementary students had heard these terms before, but equated “recycling” with “putting stuff in the blue box!” and it took many lessons on the concepts and science behind all of these concepts for students to truly embrace each strategy. By the end, all of the students were proud to explain their own ideas to “reduce” by turning off the lights when you don’t need light and to “re-use” by using the same Ziploc bag for your snacks! All students then presented their posters in front of each other and then back at their individual schools. This process reinforced the lessons, helped teach public speaking and leadership, and gave the students pride in their work.  Currently, the posters are back at each DC Public School and Independent School in order for all students at each site to read.
Students continued to tend to their gardens this month and were thrilled to see so many radishes ready for harvest. They harvested over 5 pounds and made a variety of dishes with them. See photos at: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.369957836383695.82344.157466234299524&type=1

Students also worked with a chef from Miriam’s Kitchen, a non-profit organization that serves the homeless via a breakfast program and case management services. Students and their mentors learned how to make roasted garbanzo beans and a roasted squash puree! See photo!