Community Plant Sale

Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School students sell homemade food at the Waterpenny Farm Plant Sale

Farm School student spins wool into yarn

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.

Abundance of Eggs in Winter!

While we are bundling up against the cold, our chickens don't seem to know it is winter. They haven't slowed egg production one bit.

We are enjoying the wide range of egg sizes and colors, as you'll see here in these photos. Many of our brown eggs are so large we can't close the cartons!

Students hold a silkie (our smallest breed) and a Jersey Giant (our largest breed)

Students sell the eggs at local Farmer's Markets as part of the Microconomy curriculum. They learn to track revenue and expenses, and make decisions about running the farm based on these numbers.

The students learn about economics through hands-on, experiential learning every day at the Farm School.

Battletown Inn to Serve our Sausage!

200 Year Old Fine Dining Establishment Now Serving Farm School Sausage!

You will soon see sage sausage from Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School on the menu at the Battletown Inn in Berryville, VA. For more information, check out the following: http://www.thebattletowninn.com/

Students Sell Produce to the Inn at Little Washington!

Four of our brave students knocked on the kitchen door of the Inn at Little Washington today and were rewarded by the chefs buying their cherry tomatoes, purple beans, and anaheim and jalapeno peppers. The Inn at Little Washington is "the best Inn restaurant in the world." Yes, the entire world! Imagine, the cherry tomatoes that we lovingly grew from seed are now being served as part of some amazing cuisine. Congratulations to the Farm School students and Thank You to the Inn! The Inn doesn't just talk about supporting local agriculture, they source as much food locally as they can from growers large or small. Thank you to the parents, faculty, and community volunteers who have all helped to nurture the garden, and in so doing have nurtured the development of these fantastic adolescents as well.

Local 9th grade student sells her photography at the Front Royal Farmer’s Market

Source: Warren County Sentinel
Thursday, July 30, 2009


Allie Mingo, 14 year old and rising 9th grade student at Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School, smiles as she sells her hand made photo cards at the Front Royal Farmer’s Market on Thursday, July 23rd. Sales from the card and from the meat and vegetables, go back into the Farm School’s microeconomy to pay for plants for the garden and food for the animals.

At the Farm School, students run both the farm and school alongside their teachers.

The Farm School is one of the vendors at the new Farmer’s Market, held each Thursday 4 to 8 and Saturday 9 to 1 behind the gazebo in downtown Front Royal. At Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School, students in grades 7-9 run the farm alongside their teachers.

The curriculum is project-based and hands-on, based on the needs of the farm. The students study biology, for example, by learning about the sheep as they also learn about how to care for them. Studying topics such as cell structure and the nitrogen cycle take on new excitement when they are applied to a real life situation.

The students at the Montessori Farm School raise pigs, sheep, chickens, and bees and have a large market garden. They sell their pork, eggs, and produce at the market, and put the proceeds back into the Farm School’s microeconomy to pay for feed, hay, and tools. The students manage the microeconomy and cooperatively make decisions about how to spend the money. And, there is room for invention.

Allie has an interest in photography. She decided this year to make her photos of the farm: pigs, chickens, landscapes, into photo cards to be sold as part of the microeconomy. First she sold them at school functions. Then, Herb Melrath, owner of Front Royal’s Daily Grind, offered to sell them at his store. The cards have been so popular that Allie now sells the cards at 3 local businesses: The Daily Grind, Hands to Create, and Delilah’s. All of the proceeds from the cards still go back into the Farm School’s microconomy.

By acting on her idea, this local youth is gaining experience in running a small business: from inspiration and design, to production, marketing, and accounting. You can also see Allie’s cards, along with the produce from the Farm School garden, pork sausage from their pigs, and eggs from their chickens every Thursday at the Front Royal Farmer’s Market.

http://www.thewarrensentinel.com/editions/view/EC.mont.school.html/2009-07-30