Natural Foods vs Processed Foods

We are almost done with our unit on How we organise ourselves. This week, we explored the line of inquiry that focuses on the concept of change:

' how can food be processed and changed'

Grade 1s looked at different foods on the table and sorted them out into two groups: natural and processed. After successfully grouping them, they came up with their own definition of what natural foods are and what processed foods are.

Natural Foods:

                'Fruits and vegetables are natural foods.' - Leon

                'Rice and grains are natural foods.' - Rosa

                'Natural foods are directly from trees and plants.' - Evah and Emily

                'Natural foods can also be from animals like fish.' - Leon and Keiichiro

Processed Foods:

                'Processed foods undergo steps that made them different.' - Evah and Rosa

                'Other ingredients were added to it like chemicals.' - Rosa

                'Processed foods undergo changes.' - Maelle

                'Processed foods are not directly from the trees. They are from factories and machines.' - Anton

On Monday, they will further explore these two groups of foods as we visit Toho supermarket to buy things for their homes. 😊

Life at the Farm

 For one day, the Grade 1s experienced how life is at the farm. This happened last 19 April 2022 when we went to Peace and Nature Kobe Farm at Ozo-cho, Hyogo-ken. The place is an hour drive from Rokko Island.

Grade 1s did a lot of activities that we don't get to experience in the city. One of them is cutting bamboos. Our strong parents and teachers cut the bamboo poles and the kids cut them into small parts which they used as their pots for their beans. Some also made bamboo cups for their family members

After bamboo cutting, Grade 1s made holes on the bottom of the bamboo filled it with soil and sowed seeds.

Then the students were taught on how to properly harvest onions so they can transfer it to a new pot.

The staff of the farm emphasized the importance of waste management and composting to keep a balanced and healthy environment. To keep this world running, sustainability is the key.

Look at how strong and cool our Grade 1 Moms are.

We need hard hats to protect us from falling bamboos. Safety is a priority.

Rosa: are we there yet?

No, we are still in front of the school. 😊😅

That's Bahrum from Peace and Nature. He shared a great amount of knowledge about sustainability.

Maria is proud and happy of her own bamboo. 🤩

Our cute Grade 1s wearing blue hard hats. 😍

Our baby plants have grown

 Everyday, the Grade 1s are very eager to water the seeds they burrowed in the soil. They water the plants three times in a day. Their hard work has paid off. Their small garlic bulb, beans and mustard seeds have grown into baby plants. They hope to take them home before the short break starts.😍

Shopping is fun!

 After  a week of hard work, the Grade 1s are now able to spend the amount they earned shopping for school stuffs for themselves and their friends.

They were assessed if they can show the value or price of the item using real money. Surprisingly, a lot of them are able to do so with no help at all.

They enjoyed the task because they got to spend the money they earned from doing extra house chores. Hopefully, they will continue doing these chores even without money involved.😅

Easter Egg Hunting

 The Grade 1s were very happy to do egg hunting. What made the experience even more fun for them is to find out that they got chocolate eggs.😊

Growing Baby Plants

 This week, Grade 1s tried to grow baby plants. They started with a mung bean. The mung beans were soaked in water for more than 12 hours. Each child took 5 mung beans and kept them in their small carton pots. They covered it with a cotton and sprayed water to keep moisture.

They are so excited that they water them in the morning, before they eat lunch and before they head home.

The Grade 1s also tried planting garlic. If successful, we will see long shoots of garlic leaves in 2 weeks.