Lupine Lane recycles and composts in each classroom as an embodiment of the living values with which we strive to instill our students. Composting teaches children that each and every one of them has the responsibility and, more importantly, the ability to make the world a better place. Children play a role in creating and caring for the compost bin, which allows them to view the entire process first hand, as the scraps turn from inedible pieces of food to rich and fertile soil. In the new location, this will be taken a step further as the soil will be utilized in the garden, which the children will help to tend. We will grow foods in the garden that will be picked and used in the kitchen and the children will see this in action as they help to prepare their daily lunches. This will transfer into increased awareness about the importance of caring for and protecting the environment that provides us with the necessities we need to stay alive.
Moreover, the compost bin itself will function as a stimulus for nature exploration and discovery about science in the natural world. The processes of the compost bin translate easily into discussions about the life cycle, how things grow and also the importance of caring for living things as students learn how to handle worms in a gentle way. They also lend themselves to experiments. The children can make predictions and then observe which foods the worms seem to prefer, checking whether or not their guesses were correct. They can hypothesize about what they think will happen to the food they place in the bin. They will monitor the bins over time, observing the changes that occur and developing a vocabulary to describe their observations. This introduces the children to the scientific process in an organic and memorable way.
It is through meaningful, long-term projects such as this that Lupine Lane manifests its philosophy of educating the whole child in a hands’ on manner that inspires curiosity, discovery and a love of learning.