First
There are many discovery opportunities when you give a child the task of digging in healthy compost. Healthy compost, for this task, is not mushy, moldy, smelly compost. Skip that version. (Either explore the compost before it starts to be smelly, or explore it after it has decomposed enough to not be smelly.)
When compost is "cooking' properly, it is NOT smelly. If it is smelly, add brown leaves, a layer of healthy soil, or a thick layer of yard debris.
Children exploring compost often find:
- "Gems" of identifiable food: "Look! It's a pineapple top!" "Look! Someone had grapes!"
- Unexpected finds in trash: an avocado label, piece of a plastic bag, perhaps a straw.
- Best of all: grubs, worms, ants, spiders and pill bugs! It is hard to get children to finish their exploration by the end of class.
Second
Turning unwanted food into compost is the absolutely best way of reclaiming something that would go into land fill. I am totally in support of reducing our trash production. Creating compost is a direct way of doing so. We are making valuable nutrients for our vegetable gardens right here from our own food wastes. Goal: zero waste at TMS!
Third
What better way of promoting making compost than combining these two realities? Get the children to enjoy examining compost, teach them how to do it, and create excitement about making black gold for our gardens! Of course we want healthy plants! Make compost to enable that! Of course we want ALL plant wastes (vegetables, fruit, and even flowers) at TMS to go into the compost bin. Let's make it so!
Students in this photo are sorting through the compost that has been emptied from the Toddler end of the school. Two bins that have been in use all year long have produced good, healthy compost.
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