From Farm to Picnic: A Kindergarten Adventure

Last Thursday, the Kindergarten class travelled to the Marin County Farmers Market in San Rafael, to see, taste, and purchase fruits, veggies, breads, and more to create a fresh, local, and delicious picnic.

This hands-on experience brought our classroom learning to life, as students followed the journey of food from farm… to market… to their own picnic plates.

 

Shopping Alongside Local Chefs

Many of us regularly visit the amazing Marin Farmers Market on Sunday morning, but did you know that there is also a Thursday Market known as the “Chef’s Market”?  It’s frequented by local restaurateurs (many with Michelin recognition!) and food producers looking to source their ingredients. 

Our young students got the chance to shop right alongside these culinary stars. They practiced asking vendors questions, asking for samples (and politely refraining from grimacing should they find the foods not to their liking), and making purchases. They were armed with shopping lists, created via a democratic process by all class members. And they took turns carrying the (surprisingly heavy!) shopping bags. It was definitely a team effort.

 

The Classroom-Community Connection

Students had the chance to integrate learning across multiple areas: they used math to survey their fellow students about their preferences for favorite fruits and vegetables, applied literacy skills to ask questions and record observations, and developed social-emotional skills such as compromising, following the group plan, taking turns, making group decisions, and practicing polite communication.

Said Kindergarten teacher Christina, “We were extremely proud of how brave they were to walk up to vendor booths, introduce themselves, and ask thoughtful questions. The Farmers Market staff were very impressed by how articulate and patient our learners were.”

Teacher Christina shared, “This hands-on experience not only reinforced our academic goals but also helped students develop into thoughtful and collaborative members of our class and community.”

 

 

 

The day was a big hit with all of our Kindergarten friends, but student Lera S. lamented, “The one thing I didn’t get to taste was watermelon. They didn’t have watermelon at the farmers market.”

Not this time—but we have a feeling watermelon season will be worth the wait.