Hooray, it’s May! This week the kindergarteners talked about the seasons. In the classroom, we read our first non-fiction book of the unit, The Reason for the Seasons by Ellie Peterson, and learned that we have seasons because of the tilt of the Earth.
In the kitchen, we celebrated all things spring by making a salad with baby spinach, spring onion, asparagus, English peas, strawberries, and a cider-pumpkin seed dressing. We couldn’t find any flax seed oil at our local grocery stores in time for class, so we had a good conversation about how to substitute what you have on hand when you’re working with recipes.
Nowadays it’s easy to forget that many edible plants have seasons. Our global supply chain ensures that produce is available all year round at the store. But eating with the seasons can often help support local farmers; allows us to maximize on ripeness, taste, and even nutrients; and can often be better for the environment because the food doesn’t have to travel as far to get to our plates. If you compare a strawberry from Mexico you eat in December versus a strawberry from Davis you eat in May, you can definitely tell the difference!
In addition to eating with the seasons, human beings have long created rituals and celebrations related to the specific time of year. We discussed some of our favorite holidays and how they’re connected to what’s growing (for example, pumpkins at Halloween, or evergreens for the winter solstice). In short, the seasons are awesome, and we want to learn more!
