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Political Productivity

Friday, July 29, 2011 | Filed under Health and Nutrition , Community , Family Activities

With August 2^nd looming, and political banter being bounced around, some of us are wondering who gets the credit for being the most productive in Washington?

The White House Garden.

This photo of the White House garden was taken by Terri Taylor of Edible DFW when she visited D.C. this past spring.

In the three years since her husband took office, First Lady Michelle Obama has focused a broad spotlight on the importance of healthy eating and active lifestyles through the first White House garden to be planted since the days of Eleanor Roosevelt’s Victory Garden during World War ...

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snakestoadswormsbutterfliesgrubsbeetlesladybugschrysalises

Tuesday, July 26, 2011 | Filed under Environmental Stewardship , Student Behavior , Science

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Who Can Stand This Heat?

Friday, July 15, 2011 | Filed under Health and Nutrition , School Garden Design

For many parts of the country, summer is the season for gardening. Here, in North Texas, where temperatures have been above 90* and hovering just around 100*F for over a month now (and the cooler days of fall seemingly far, far away), summer is when many vegetable gardeners hang up the hoe and head back inside. It’s okay, we tell ourselves, because we know we’ll plant again soon and dine on fresh lettuce and broccoli right on through December.

Of course, for those with the greenest of green thumbs (and a willingness to wake up earlier than the ...

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A Secret To Growing Vegetables Lies Deep In The Soil

Wednesday, July 13, 2011 | Filed under Environmental Stewardship , School Garden Installation , School Garden Design , Science

If you wonder why your vegetables don't look so good, the secret ingredient you may be missing is COMPOST! Vegetables are heavy feeders - you can think of them as the teenage boys of the garden. This means you need to continuously improve (feed) your soil so that the soil can feed your hungry vegetables.

Composting at Hexter Elementary, Dallas ISD

If you started your school garden with a purchased soil mix, chances are there are no active microorganisms yet alive in that soil. These microorganisms are what help feed the plants. By amending the soil with compost, you will be ...

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The Secret Society

Friday, July 08, 2011 | Filed under Student Behavior , Social Engineering

This is a society so secret that neither the names, the physical identification nor the location of the participants can be disclosed. This is a community of thinkers, investigators and problem solvers and they are our future. They cannot yet take care of themselves, but they are thinking about it. Because they are the citizens of the future they need our utmost respect, therefore we need to honor and nurture them into adulthood.

As one can see, they are busy being mindful of their present state, which on the map of the world is marked with an X ...

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New David Sobel Book for Sturdy Souls

Wednesday, July 06, 2011 | Filed under Student Behavior , Family Activities



     In his most recent book, Wild Play: Parenting Adventures in the Great Outdoors, David Sobel writes, "The glad animal play of childhood, the complete immersive quality, is one of the elixirs of life and also one of the indispensable proteins that build a sturdy adult soul." I couldn't have said it better myself, which is probably why I'm updating this blog every so often and David is writing the books! And this is a book you should read.

     Recognized for his leadership in the movement to weave Place Based Education into the fabric of our culture ...

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One potato, two potato...

Friday, July 01, 2011 | Filed under Student Behavior , Community , Science , Math

“I learned that it really feels good to help somebody out every once in a while…” -4^th grader at Alice Carlson Applied Learning Center in Fort Worth

Back in February, schools were asked if they would like to participate in a project to grow and harvest potatoes for local food pantries. After 100 days of growing, over 430 lbs of potatoes had been donated to 9 local food banks in Tarrant County.

The project was made possible by a partnership with the ready and willing Katey Rudd at Tarrant Area Food Bank (TAFB), who located and contacted food ...

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