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Visit an elder care facility/assisted living community

Bring a bowl of beautiful, ripe, red strawberries, freshly picked

First, read the room and (without prompting) see how people react to the bowl of strawberries arriving in the room

Create space for people to tell a story if they want to

Pay close attention to body language, emotional responses, curiosity

If there is no response, go over and look closely at them. Maybe smell them. Say something like “hmmmmm”

Nonverbally prompt/encourage folks to look more closely

Consider that some folks may not be verbal, or may be uncomfortable speaking in a group

Then ask basic sensory prompts, e.g.

What do you notice? What do you wonder? What do these strawberries remind you of? Any stories to tell?

Let the conversation flow organically.

Eventually, make sure everyone who wants a strawberry gets a chance to taste one.

Ideally, bring enough strawberries for everyone in the community, so that no one gets left out.

Smile, and enjoy!

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Try to list as many ingredients as you can.

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Here is a Tasting Activity with resources that I have put together.

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(1) Sensory learning through food experience.
(2) Sensory learning through making artwork.
(3) Building memories = photos and videos. (*remembering the sensations, euphoria, other feelings amd experience that happen in that particular moment, and the people we are with.)
(4) Sensory learning: learning objects or subjects through songs. (*Like how McDonalds build their advertisement long time ago about BigMac, what is in it? And everybody remembers it. or like The Cadbury Ad.)

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In the planting class, students love to use their bare hand to prepare the soil - observe and feel with their hand the soil mixture and texture for the potting.

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I like to use the mindful eating meditation from the Edible Schoolyard, especially with Middle and High School students... it gets them engaged in ways they are not expecting... kind of secretly... :)

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I like to use the mindful eating meditation from the Edible Schoolyard, especially with Middle and High School students... it gets them engaged in ways they are not expecting... kind of secretly... :)

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Observe and write from the perspective of an animal in the garden (bird's eye view, bug's view).

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Celebrate their accomplishments. Ask questions about their challenges. Draw connections between their struggles and those in our own lives.

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Create a story together... one kid starts, then the other follows, etc etc... teacher can help guide a little (once upon a time there was a bee in the garden, but theeeen...)

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Invite students to journal about their experience.

What do you already know?
What do you want to know?
What did you learn?
How did you feel before, during, after?

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(1) Quiz with prizes.
(2) Group work sessions, collaborative exhibitors.
(3) 1-on-1 Q&A approach. (personal check list)

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Taste several varieties of the same type of fruit or vegetable and note the similarities and differences in look, feel, smell, and taste.

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To build connections, on your page, include pictures, numbers and words (see youtube videos by John Muir Laws).

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These apply to almost every lesson, and are powerful prompts for awakening curiosity, direct observation, critical thinking, and connections.

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Teaching Strategies page from Facing History and Ourselves
(Some of my favorites are: Big Paper, Concept mapping, Contracting, and Barometer activities)

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I experienced this once while joining a meditation group. We were eating a cookie with eyes closed and being silent.
This really has stimulated all the senses and also helped me to grow "imagination" towards what I was eating. And even more, appericiation.

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I would like to have a dedicated herb garden, so there is always something to taste, even before and after big veg & berry time.

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At the welcoming circle with the little ones (4, 5 year olds) Ask what veggies have you eaten this week?... Some kids say tomatoes and others start questioning, isn't tomato a fruit... and then an easy discussion about fruit and veggies starts right there

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Drawing what is observed...from different perspectives - up close, from a distance, etc

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Encourage students to observe and become aware of what is in the garden, in front of them or around them.

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Building critical thinking through:
(1) Sing-a-song that provoke learning for introduction.
(2) Reading together. Taking turns.
(3) Question & Answer session/ quiz with prizes.
(4) Praying together and gratitude to close the learning session.

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I created a fruit and vegetable "petting zoo", students could touch, squish, smell, and finally taste. I used unusual types such as rambutan, mango,etc. We crushed the herbs and had them smell. Many had never experience the variety of herbs from the garden. This was followed by a pesto tasting. Our time together is so short which makes it difficult.

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Whenever a child asks a question, put it back to the group and have it become a conversation. They can even write and draw what they decide, for further exploration.

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Open-ended question
Affirm
Reflective statement
Summary

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Basil
lambs ear
lavender
rosemary

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Think: What would happen if there were no bees
Pair. have the children talk about that
Share: ideas with class

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Have a list of colors, smells, sounds and textures that students can try and associate to items in the garden. Example may be the color red. One student might say apple and another may say roses.

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Letting plants in the garden such as the Brassica or pepper family go to flower, then having the children taste them. Asking what it tastes like to them, possibly where could they use it? This will also open the door to explain how the sweetness comes from the sugars shooting to the flower to feed the seed.

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Using a mystery box for students to feel what the produce is before seeing it. The students get very excited to find out what it is.

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Use all your senses! Could be about a specific flower, insect, decomposer, or the entire garden. Build personal connections, take pride in our art/creative potential, and perform for each other.

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(When sharing something cooked with a group)

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(When sharing something cooked with a group)

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What did I enjoy in this dish?
What would I change in this dish?
What do I want to borrow from this dish?

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Using colored manipulatives (perhaps red and blue poker chips) challenge students to find the various combinations of plant traits for heirloom, inbred varieties used strategically to create hybrid varieties. Then, have them explore the results if the hybrid varieties produce a second generation. Could bring probability into this combinatorics lesson or keep it very simplistic for younger.

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What would happen if there were no bees?
What is good about composting?
What skills do you suppose we use when we cook together?

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Ask students to find colors in the garden that match paint chips (available at paint and hardware stores).

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Planting a color garden for the little ones as they learn colors in preschool and PreK.
Purposefully choosing herbs and flowering plants that have smells for students in K & 1 to describe orally and in written journals.

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Tasting while checking in with all of your senses.

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After spending time in the garden with the children, have art materials ready and let them quietly draw and/or paint whatever they choose

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3,2,1 activity : 3 things you hear, 2 things you smell, 1 thing that you see and it makes you happy... or you can decide what you want the kids to do. 

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3,2,1 activity : 3 things you hear, 2 things you smell, 1 thing that you see and it makes you happy... or you can decide what you want the kids to do. 

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5 Things you see
4 Things you can touch
3 Things you can hear
2 Things you can smell or touch
1 Deep breath

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Encourage the “why”

Open-ended questions

Create dialogue with your students

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What would happen if …

What would it be like to …

Why did …

How do we know that …

What did you think when ...

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Encourage students to use descriptive words. If you google “sensory language” or “sensory vocabulary” lots of banks of words come up that can be helpful.

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ESY lessons that encourage sensory observations

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ESY lessons that encourage sensory observations

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1. Exploring a Community Garden
2. Sound Mapping
3. Food Memory
4. Reflecting on Food

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1. Crafting a Check in Questions
2. What is Organic
3. Kitchen Reflection Wheel

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Instructional Strategy: Think, Pair, Share

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Instructional Strategy: Think, Pair, Share

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Think. Give students an interesting broad question to think or write about briefly.
Pair. Pair students, and ask them to discuss the question(s) with their partner.
Share. Students share their discussion ideas with another pair of students or the instructor leads a whole group discussion about the topic.

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Why might this [topic, question] matter to me?

Why might it matter to people around me [family, friends, city, nation]?

Why might it matter to the world?

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Instructional Strategy: See, Think, Wonder

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Instructional Strategy: See, Think, Wonder

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Choose and present an image.

Invite students to observe what they see. ...

Invite students to “look closer.”

Create a list of observations, and invite students to make inferences about what they see. ...

Ask the students what their questions are.

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ESY Lessons that Encourage Critical Thinking

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ESY Lessons that Encourage Critical Thinking

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1. Flower Discovery

2. Circles of Connection