What’s Growing On? January 2023 News from Grow Education

by: Olivia Rother, FoodCorps Service Member

Grow Education Lesson Highlight – Tea Party!

Third graders at Brooks Elementary School in New Bedford participated in a tea party this past week. The lesson was created and facilitated by one of Marion Institute’s FoodCorps members, Olivia Rother, to integrate with curriculum being taught in their social studies class. The students were excited and engaged with a lesson about the Boston Tea Party, and Olivia saw it as a great opportunity to teach about herbal teas! Our Farm to School program always looks for ways to give students direct experiences around food that they will hopefully, remember forever!

Students learned about how herbs grow, their health benefits, and enjoyed tea from loose leaf herbs provided by Town Farm Tonics. Each student created their own custom blended tea bag with herbs such as chamomile, lavender, and peppermint.

While sipping the tea, students were encouraged to be mindful and pay attention to their senses. This lesson is just one example of many that Grow Education utilizes to teach students about the importance of their own health, and gets them used to learning about and trying new things!