Saturday, October 16th is the Seth Boyden Harvest Festival!! Please volunteer to make the day really special! Volunteer HERE!
Tag: outdoor learning center
From Mrs. Tuohy:
“Dear Families,
Hooray! We started our seeds for our spring and summer garden this week! I will keep you posted on their progress.
Ready for a little I Spy Nature game?
I Spy Nature in the Seth Boyden Garden…
- things that are decomposing
- a pollinator
- seeds with space
- food for birds
- a flower head from our 2020 garden
- something ready to burst color
- a sign that winter is ending
- a tool for the soil
- a seed that flies
- a natural spiral
- a seed pod
- a fruit with vitamin C
- a root for eating
Play with your children and make up some of your own clues. Create your own I Spy Nature Tray. I wonder what you will find outside your door?
I am challenging myself to learn a new bird call with students each week this spring. Today we listened to the Northern Cardinal. You can hear it here by clicking here.
Fourth-grader Callum Catts suggested we learn the Blue Jay and Mourning Dove next! Make sure you hear his Mourning Dove imitation if you see him around!
Lots of love and happy snow melting!
Mrs. Tuohy”
From Seth Boyden Garden Teacher Mrs. Tuohy:
Make a batch of homemade playdough (recipe below).
Gather beautiful objects from nature. Decorate the play dough with the natural objects while reflecting on and celebrating the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Simple homemade play dough recipe:
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup salt
- 4 teaspoons cream of tartar (optional)
- 2 cups lukewarm water
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- food coloring (optional)
- ziploc bag, plastic wrap, or airtight container to store
Method
- Stir together the flour, salt, and cream of tartar (if using it) in a large pot.
- Add the water and oil. If you are adding the optional food coloring, add it now.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue stirring until the dough has thickened and begins to form a ball.
- Remove from heat and place on another nonstick surface to cool slightly.
- Knead until smooth and roll into balls. Cover with plastic wrap, place in a ziploc bag, or store in an airtight container.
From Seth Boyden Garden Teacher Ms. Tuohy:
Birdseed Cookies
Yummy treats for our winter bird friends!
- Mix unflavored gelatin with boiling water.
- Use 2 or 3 tablespoons of gelatin to a cup of water, stir until dissolved.
- Stir in birdseed until the liquid is mixed through and the birdseed is wet but not in a puddle.
- Place the mixture inside a greased cookie cutter or muffin tin.
- Place a straw in each seed cookie to create the hole for hanging the seed cookie.
- Let chill for a few hours before releasing the cookies from the molds.
- Hang on trees for feathered friends to enjoy!
Read The Snow Tree by Caroline Repchuk to find how other creatures have brought color and gifts to the winter whiteness.
For more information, visit One Little Project – Bird Seed Ornaments.
Snow Scene/Art
Fill an aluminum pan with snow. Using items from home, build a scene and tell a story. Add paint or food coloring if you wish.
Animal Tracking
Visit our Seth Boyden Garden to see who has been checking on the garden and missing us!
We are incredibly proud to share that Jacob Case, a 4th-grader in Mr. Hein’s class, has been featured in Jamie Oliver’s Cooking Buddies Club! Congratulations to Jacob and his family! We’re so happy that Jamie Oliver, one of Britain’s top chefs, recognizes Jacob’s talents!
Over the summer, Jacob made a video of harvesting nasturtiums and other edible flowers from the Strawberry Fields garden (with Ms. Tuohy’s full support and permission of course!). Jacob turned them into a delicious salad and uploaded the video to his Instagram & Facebook pages. The video was then shared in Jamie Oliver’s private Cooking Buddies Facebook group, where the team saw what a star Jacob is! Jamie Oliver’s team edited the video and shared it on Instagram so that thousands more could enjoy Jacob’s food!
Check out Jacob’s Cooking Buddies video by clicking here.
To see Jacob cooking, you can check him out on Facebook at Cooking with Jacob or on Instagram @cookingwithjacob9.
Here’s another recipe that Jacob loves that also uses ingredients (the Swiss chard) he harvested from our school garden.
Sautéed Swiss Chard with Steamed Butter Nut Squash:
- Wash and cut the butternut squash into cubes while removing the seeds (do not peel)
- Steam the squash until tender but firm. Do not boil or steam squash in a lot of water to prevent it from becoming soggy
- Use an assortment of different colors of Swiss chard for added color
- Wash chards and remove the stalks
- Dice the chard stalks and keep separate from the leaves
- Roughly cut the chard leaves
- Add 2-4 cloves of chopped garlic and one small chopped onion to olive oil on medium heat and saute for one minute—make sure garlic doesn’t turn brown. Then add stalks and stir occasionally for about 5 minutes until soft. Add chard leaves, cover, and cook for about 3 minutes or until leaves are fully wilted while stirring occasionally.
- Add steamed squash and season with salt, pepper, dried herbs, and butter for extra taste. You can also use your favorite seasonings. Mix all ingredients and make sure everything is fully incorporated.
- Enjoy with your favorite protein or by itself!
Come One, Come All
Seth Boyden Outdoor Learning Center Clean-up!
Looking for a way to help our school this fall? Bring the family and join the outdoor learning center clean-up!
On October 10th and 11th we’ll be weeding, watering, spreading mulch, moving logs– you get the idea!
Oct 10 – 9 am to 1 pm
Oct 11 – 1 pm to 5 pm
Please bring your own work gloves and tools if you can (we don’t want folks sharing tools because of covid). Kids welcome! And of course, wear a mask!!
Sign up today to reserve your spot – click here.
Seth Boyden School students are enjoying yet another new piece of playground equipment as a comprehensive overhaul of the Outdoor Learning Center continues to take shape.
The equipment, installed two weeks ago, is officially called the “GameTime Powerscape PlaySystem,” however, PTA Fundraising Chair Caryn Emmons said, “I hear that the kids have taken to calling it the Big Castle.”
The Big Castle is designed for use by children aged 5-12. The cost for the equipment was $37,025. “It was originally $74,050,” reported Emmons, “but I applied for the ‘Back to School Playground Grant’ with the playground equipment company and they awarded us 50% off.” Shipping cost an additional $5,277, and the installation was approximately $15,000.
The entire cost of the purchase, shipping and installation was paid for by the Seth Boyden PTA. The school district contributed mulch.
The Seth Boyden community has been working hard over the past two years to raise funds to pay for the OLC improvements, including grant writing, individual gifts and special events. This past February, the PTA raised $15,000 at an auction gala at Orange Lawn in South Orange. Also this winter, The Seth Boyden Series raised tens of thousands of dollars for the equipment by hosting two events — one featuring Ira Glass of This American Life and the other featuring Tim Gunn of Project Runway.
The Big Castle joins some climbing rocks and a hexamid that were installed last year, with other improvements to come. The overall OLC plan includes more porous paved areas that would be usable in wet weather (currently students are spend recess inside if the field is too wet and muddy), an improved path, improved entrances, and a new amphitheater. Seth Boyden already has notable garden areas including “Strawberry Fields” where classrooms plant flowers, herbs and vegetables.
So how are the reviews for the new equipment?
“What a great few weeks for our community, for the kids and for all of us grownups who have seen part of our dream fulfilled!” wrote PTA President Susie Adamson in an email to the Seth Boyden community. “We opened up the new playground equipment for play last Tuesday. Since then, we have heard many reports from overjoyed children — hurray!”