Schools in China bring lessons to life | from classroom to organic farm

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Charlotte Hetherington

Head of Year 2

  To help further their understanding of the IPC topics How Are You? and Our Wonderful World, our year 2 classes paired up and took a trip to a local organic farm on the 14th and 15th of November. The children had the opportunity to learn about different vegetables grown in autumn, such as turnips, kale and radish. They worked in pairs to pick the vegetables and prepare their own food hamper to take home. They then learned about the planting process and each planted their own succulent. Finally, the farmers demonstrated the proper technique for smashing rice plant husks to collect the edible grains inside. The children were amazed at how long it took to harvest and prepare enough rice for just one meal! This trip provided an engaging first-hand learning experience for year 2. For all of the children, seeing where primary produce comes from and how it is grown gave them the opportunity to learn about the importance of eating healthy and natural food as often as possible. It also showed them just how much time and effort is involved in farming, making them more aware of the importance of not wasting food. This attitude towards maintaining a healthy diet that’s good for their bodies and the environment expands on the ideas they have been learning for global citizenship. Throughout the trip, pupils practised their cooperative learning skills and left the farm with a greater understanding of how their food gets from the farm gate to their plate.