Turnip Time!

Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School students grew turnips from seed and are reaping the fruits of their labor this November.

Farm School students have the option to become managers of an area of the farm in their 9th grade year. The 9th grade Garden Manager and one of her current garden crew members came in from the garden with a basket full of freshly dug turnips this week asking "can we please cook them up for people for lunch?!?" We were happy to oblige.

They used a cookbook recently donated by a parent, "From Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce" to learn about preparing and cooking turnips.

They then peeled, chopped, sauteed and baked the white and pink roots and shared them with all of the students and faculty members.  We compared the taste of those sauteed vs. baked and salted vs. unsalted.

The initiative and follow-through demonstrated by these 12 and 14 year old girls is characteristic of the Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School. Such amazing young people!

MLK Day: A Day of Service

“Life's most persistent and urgent question is,

'What are you doing for others?'”

- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

On January 18th, the Farm School Community celebrated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by doing service for those in need in our wider community.

One group cleaned up the grounds and garden of the Fauquier Family Shelter in Warrenton. The work inspired some of the students to suggest bringing vegetable seedlings grown by Farm School students to the Shelter's garden in the spring.

Another group helped to organize and price donated goods at the Fauquier Food Bank's Thrift Store. This group also enjoyed the work, and appreciated the element of recycling while also helping those who need access to lower cost household items and clothing.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is often quoted as having said: "Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education." Setting aside time to recognize the needs of others around us, and to lend a hand to those in need, builds character.

The Farm School students returned from their service projects on Monday filled with optimism.

"Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Digging out from the snowstorm

Good will abounded as students, parents, teachers, and neighbors came back to school on the first day of winter vacation to help dig paths to the animals.

Two feet of snow fell during the weekend before Christmas 2009 in the biggest December snow storm ever in Flint Hill, Virginia.

Volunteers dug paths to the pigs, sheep, and chickens, and made sure all were warm and had access to fresh water and food.

It was a wonderful demonstration of the dedication of the Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School Community.

Holidays are a time for appreciating and enjoying family, and at Mountain Laurel Montessori we really value ours.

No school today? No way!

Friday was technically a holiday. Students and teachers did not have to go to school. So what did we do? We went to school anyway! Students, younger siblings, teachers, and parents gathered at the Farm School to do community work.

In the morning, we built greenhouses to cover the raised beds, worked on the portable chicken house ("chicken tractor"), dug the hole and began to build the walls for the primitive pit fire (in which we will fire our clay pots), unloaded hay, and reorganized the Farmer's Market materials. In the afternoon, we ate lunch and played soccer.

It was a wonderful day. I was touched by the willingness of so many in the school community to volunteer their time and talents when they could have been sleeping in. The students have such ownership of the Farm School that they love to be there working together to get things done. It is a joy to work with these young people.

-Susan, Farm School Director

On Academics and Work Ethic

Alex: "This school taught me to have a work ethic."

Alex: "I want to learn more than what is on the SOL (Standard of Learning) test…You learn more than what is required here [at the Farm School]."

Bronte: "I shadowed recently at a private school in Hagerstown, Maryland. I went to Geometry, Spanish, and Biology. The things they were learning I pretty much already knew."

Alex: "I learned the true meaning of education...This school taught me the value of an education…Even when things are hard, you just have to get over it. Things aren't going to be handed to you – you need to work hard…This school taught me to appreciate what educators do for us…This school brought out the joys of childhood and learning. You actually like to go to school…It is everything that is good for you and what you like all mixed into one."

Comments made by Farm School Alumni