Radish harvest in the Titan Garden

1st graders last week came out to the garden with one thing on their mind - radishes.

They knew the time had come to harvest radishes from the Titan Garden, but first they had to have some "garden care" time.  They split into groups and went to work picking out weeds and using lots of teamwork to dig them up  Other students watered different parts of the garden.

After caring for the garden, it was time for our harvest.  Only about 1/3 of the students said they had ever tried radishes so this would be a new experience for many of them.   And they could choose to try or not to try the radish.  First we dug up about 5 radishes per class.  Then the students helped clean them and get them ready for slicing.  A little salt sprinkled on top and the tasting begun. 

 Thoughts from the students:  "refreshing", "yummy", "kinda spicy" and the occasional "ewww".  In the end, we asked them to give thumbs up or thumbs down on whether they liked the radish.

 
But the most telling sign they might like this something new that they tried?  After offering seconds and thirds to anyone who wanted them, there was not a single slice of radish left over.

Hill Country Education Foundation helps our garden grow!!

THANK YOU HILL COUNTRY EDUCATION FOUNDATION!

Just before the holidays we were thrilled to get a surprise visit, not from a jolly old elf, but from the Grant Patrol of the Hill Country Education Foundation and Dr. Bret Champion, LISD Superintendent, to award the Titan Garden with a grant of $2500 for continued development of our garden program. The Foundation’s goal is to assist in developing a superior educational experience for students in the Four Points community, accomplished through financial support from individuals and businesses living and working in the area.  We appreciate all that they do for our schools and this was an amazing gift to the garden.

What made it even more amazing was that they arrived right in the middle of one of our garden classes, so we had a great time showing our guests the new rainfall simulator being used in our lesson and showing them all the great things the students have planted.  Our rainfall simulator shows 3 scenarios of rain falling on different surfaces and how it changes whether the water can be used as a resource.  The kids did great at making predictions on which scenario would produce the most groundwater vs. runoff. 

And of course, there is nothing like having your class interrupted with balloons and a big sign!   Thanks to all those at the HCEF, you can come hang out in the garden anytime!

New signs in the garden

The garden has some beautiful new signs in it.  These signs are cut slices from our cedar trees that were donated to make our stump seating in the classroom.  The stumps each have a garden rule on it, the very same rules that the 1st graders came up with when the classroom was created. 

 

Thanks to Mary Catherine Gardner, one of our parent volunteers, for making these amazing signs.