A lesson a full year in the making finally came full circle for second-grade students at East Terrell Hills Elementary School.
Last March, Judith Sanchez-Higgins’ students learned how villagers in Oaxaca, Mexico, planted crops. Sanchez-Higgins knows this method because she grew up in the village and used it to plant corn and beans.
A year later, the fruits…or vegetables…of their labor have grown into full, six-foot stalks of corn and beans on the edge of campus. The students recently harvested the corn and beans and a student’s family made caldo for the students using their vegetables.
The corn harvest has also been shared with community members who have watched the stalks grow over the past year. This student-planted garden has become a small community garden, not just strengthening these students’ understanding but also strengthening the bonds of this community.
The students all smiled as they tried the food they had grown. This delicious, hands-on lesson taught students about science, cultures they learned about in social studies and themselves.
