Lambs for Sale!

Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School is selling 5 beautiful Border Leicester ram lambs. 

They are pedigreed with papers. Born in March.  They have been hand raised by the students and are very gentle.  Would be great for 4-H or another setting where they will be around children and youth.

Border Leicester sheep are a dual purpose breed: good for both wool and meat.  These lads would make great breeding stock.

Their fleeces are gorgeous: two black, three white.

Call for more info: (540) 675-1011 or e-mail mlmfarmschool@earthlink.net

As part of the Microeconomics curriculum, Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School students manage the money that is made through sale of farm products, as well as the expenses generated by the farm.  Raising, breeding, and selling the sheep are part of learning about economics hands-on.

Open House! Visit the Montessori Farm School Friday and Saturday (5/7-5/8)

OPEN HOUSE

Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School

7th - 9th grades

Friday, May 7th, 9 am - Noon

Saturday, May 8th, 10 am - Noon

23 Sunny Slope Ln, Flint Hill, VA

(on 522 / Zachary Taylor Hwy, just North of Flint Hill)

You are invited to visit Mountian Laurel Montessori Farm School; Find out for yourself why students love going to school here!

Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School is:

• 
  
  An academically rigorous, college preparatory curriculum
• 
  
  A strong community that fosters mutual respect among students and adults
• 
  
  A safe place to explore self-expression through the arts & sports
• 
  
  An environment that encourages a balance of freedom and responsibility
• 
  
  A great place to grow into a confident, capable, young adult

Education for a Sustainable Future

(540) 675-1011

Backpacking the Massanutten

Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School students backpacked 22 miles in the Signal Knob area of the Massanutten Range in VA.

In addition to helping each other to accomplish a physical challenge, the students learned many other skills.

Here, they learn how to light a one match fire: 

Brandon McCrary of Weasel Creek Outfitters taught us about the geology and the Civil War history of the area:

Students also enjoyed the plants and animals of the mountains:

The Farm School Live On The Air!

Congratulations

to students Ursula Bell and Zoe Pettler

who did an outstanding job in an interview on the local radio show The Valley Today!

You can listen to the podcast online here:

http://www.theriver953online.com/page.php?page_id=41558

Scroll down and click on
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010: Mountain Laurel Montessori School Staff

The students, along with Farm School Director Susan Holmes, were interviewed about upcoming events and recent happenings at Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School.

Thanks to Mario Retrosi for inviting us to be on the show.

Harnessing the Sun's Energy

Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School students made solar ovens from simple materials: cardboard, aluminum foil, plastic, and black paper.  They applied their knowledge of the properties of heat and light in their designs.  We hope to really get cooking by June!

The solar ovens were part of the Solar Energy Occupation Project (project-based science class focused on the physics of energy).  This project helped us to prepare for the installation and use of the new greenhouse.

First Fruits of Spring

The strawberries are back!  They remained dormant under all that snow this winter and are now finding their way up through the mulch. 

We are taking on the finicky process of putting down landscape cloth - cutting holes for each emerging plant - to keep the weeds down.



Two 9th year students wanted to find out how many of the plants survived the winter.  They took a random sampling of 2 foot square plots, counted the number of strawberries in each plot, then measured the area of the total bed and used a ratio to estimate the number of strawberry plants.  Good news!  The strawberries not only survived, they have multiplied. 

Strawberry jam and sticky red fingers are just around the corner.

Rappahannock Garden Club Donates Cold Frame

THANK YOU to the Rappahannock Garden Club for donating a beautiful cold frame designed and constructed by Louise Bondelid. 

We will use it to extend the growing season earlier in the spring and later in the fall.

It is modular so it is easy to move and reconstruct in place in the garden.