Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program

Bulimba State School has a program for Years 4-7 called the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program. Throughout the year, the children learn how to grow, harvest, and prepare fresh seasonal food.  On Wednesday, Ellis’s class had their turn in the program.  During that time, the children learned about preparing a garden for planting potatoes.  One group of children worked hard to dig and prepare the trenches for the potatoes, while the other group gathered vegetables from the garden to use in the salad they would prepare later in the kitchen.  The classes in Years 4-7 shared responsibility and worked on the potato garden at different times throughout the week.  Once Ellis’s class was done with their portion of work in the garden, they moved into the kitchen.

In the kitchen, five stations were set up. The children were divided into groups to prepare a different part of the meal for the day.  Two stations prepared homemade pasta, one station made pesto, another made a pumpkin sauce for a pasta dish, and the last station assembled the salad and made the dessert.  It is really amazing to watch the kids at work.  They are given a recipe and, with the help of a parent, create their dish.  I should note that the vegetables and herbs used come straight out of the garden that the children planted and harvested. Before beginning the program a few weeks ago, they were given a lesson on how to use the knives (yes, they use real knives), behavior in the kitchen, and keeping the kitchen clean.  The expectations for a class of 8/9 year olds are high and it works! 

 

Ellis and Tom working hard to gather the compost.

 

I was happy to stick to picture taking!

 

Hauling the compost to the potato garden. Go Muscles!

 

 

One of the sweet girls digging the trenches.

 

Where the lettuce was gathered for the salad.

 

 

Ellis starting the process for the pasta.

 

The children gathered together to enjoy the lunch that they put together.

I know that it isn't the best picture, but wanted you to see their view.

 

Time to wash the dishes!

 

Don't forget to fold the dish towels!

 

 

Ellis loved making pasta so much that he wanted us to get our own pasta machine.  Too make sure he was really interested, I asked him if he wanted that as one of his birthday presents. When he said yes, my heart melted! In a day where electronics “rule”, I couldn’t wait to get my buddy his own pasta machine.  I love my little chef!  With the help of Hannah Grace, we tried it out tonight. We made a mess (good thing Tony wasn’t here), but we had fun and we enjoyed a yummy, made-from-scratch dinner!

 

 

 Trying out his new pasta machine!

 

 

The end result!