Garbanzo Brains

It was a beautiful and sunny day today in the Sanderlin Peace Patch, and we had a full shift of 3 back-to-back classes with just enough time left at the end to water the garden.  With the kindergarteners today we discussed the importance of sunlight to plants. Most of the kids recognized the essential function of the sun in providing light energy for the plant to turn into food, but wouldn’t really sit still long enough to go into any sort of depth. We promptly headed into the garden to show them the way in which plants use different mechanisms to absorb the most sunlight. The kids were pretty amazed when we explained to them how sunflowers follow the sun as it moves in the sky, which is always a rewarding feeling. 

When the first graders came in we switched over the lesson to the life cycle of a bean plant. After going through the different stages and showing the kids pictures, we went into the garden to look at the yellow bean and garbanzo bean plants. As I opened one of the garbanzo pods and showed them the bean inside, the first thing out of Myle’s mouth was “Ahhh it looks like a brain!”

So garbanzo beans were called garbanzo brains for the remainder of the session, which was perfectly fine with me.

Myles holding a garbanzo brain

           

Something about these gardens has made the time fly right before my eyes. I feel like I just started in this new teaching role, and now we only have a short two weeks left with these kids. Though there have been times where I have felt frustrated or overwhelmed by chaos, I don’t think I wouldn’t have gotten the same meaning out of this experience without those moments. It has been those hectic, stressful times that have taught me the most and have made me laugh the hardest, and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.

  

Colby