At Maple Leaf Kingsley International School, we encourage our students to learn about school farming and how plants can save our Mother Earth. This science problem-based learning is reinforced with a descriptive workbook called My A-maize-ing Journey. The workbooks are designed to support the objectives, topics, and the intended learning outcomes for our students. This is part of the holistic curriculum of the primary school studies at Kingsley.
The importance of school farming is to encourage extended learning in classrooms beyond traditional settings and to have hands-on experience as well as to understand the overall farming process. School farms boost learning and engagement across the curriculum and provide innovative ways to teach students about wellbeing and green issues. Students learn explanatory facts such as trees conserves energy, combat climate change, clean the air, and provides food.
When the concept of ‘Corn in an Egg Shell’ was introduced to the primary students, they were quick to respond positively and brought their eggshells and egg cartons to start the planting sessions with enthusiasm. Using eggshells is an economical way of recycling a natural food product and a vessel to grow a healthy plant. The eggshells provide nutrients for the plant as they grow as they are considered as a great compost and an organic fertilizer.
The calcium from eggshells moderates the soil acidity while providing nutrients for plants. Eggshells contain an abundance of calcium and they do create a measurable impact during the growing process. Within the subsequent four to five days, corn shoots began to sprout. The germination process had begun. During this crucial process, students were taught that plants need the right amount of water to grow well, air to live and sunlight to sprout healthily.
The learning outcome of this project is for our students to gain environmental awareness and understand the economic importance of plants. At ML Kingsley, we ensure that our young people are equipped with the skills and knowledge to make sound and informed decisions.
We teach our students about the origin of how crops are grown and the sustainability of food growers. The experiential learnings obtained from practical sessions on the school farm helps to reinforce what is taught in the classrooms. It teaches our students about eating healthy and the harvest cycle. It also equips the students with first-hand knowledge of how to run agribusinesses. This is especially important in cultivating an entrepreneurial spirit in them. The future of agriculture does depend on the next generation. As the population grows, so does the need to be able to produce enough food to feed everyone.
