TIDEPOOL OCEAN ACADEMY 「せかい」水曜日

Hello Everyone! 

I hope you are enjoying the start to Spring.  The days are longer so we can have more fun at the farm these days!  Today we worked with Fire again, starting with making sparks and one student started a fire using flint and steel(it was his first time succeeding!!).

Once the fire was started, we discussed what fire is used for in our daily lives; we cook, heat, and make light with fire.  But today we looked at another way to use fire, and how to add character to wood by partially burning it. 
First, we cut pieces of wood to be used.  Each child took turns using a saw to cut.  Not easy!!!
Then we placed the wood in the fire to burn all the sides of the wood.  This took just a short period of time.  





Then using a wire brush, we brushed away all the burn wood exposing the wood grain below. Finally, we melted bees wax into the wood, torched the wood a little to soak in the wax, and then rubbed the wax into the wood to give it a smooth polish.  The kids loved the feel of the wood once it was done.
I look forward to seeing everyone again next week!!

Best regards,

Michael Coach

Hello everyone!

I hope you are all well and avoiding winter sickness.  Eat lots of veggies to help your immune system!!!


Today we started planting Spring potatoes.  First we will plant many rows of May Queen potatoes.  And later we will plant other varieties.

I showed the kids how we store potatoes from the previous year's harvest by storing them in a box of sand or in paper bags so that sunshine and the elements do not contact the potatoes.  This way they may not rot of die during winter. 

 
As you can see, the potatoes are excited to get into the soil! 

Before planting, we looked at vetch plants(karasu no endou) to examine how these plants produce their own Nitrogen, which helps plants grow.  We will leave these weeds as they are to improve the soil!
 
So then we dug holes in the soil, added a little organic fertalizer, and then planted the potatoes. 

 
Afterwards, we picked mizuna and dill to bring home for a yummy salad.  I hope you enjoy!

 
Have a great week and I look forward to seeing everyone next week!


Best regards,
Michael Keida

Hello Everyone!!

Once again today we worked with fire and practiced our skills.  Some of today`s students have not had a chance to make fires yet so it was new, but for others they had a chance to hone their fire starting ability.
 
First, we made a fire to build in the stove within the farm house.  Then we used the fire to roast potatoes and garlic in olive oil using foil.  While it cooked, everyone took turns building fires.

To make the fire, we went around finding dry brush to make into nests.  Then we placed some charcloth inside the nest to catch the sparks.  Sparks were made using flint and steel, or using a special type of iron that can spark easily when struck.
 
At the end, we enjoyed some YUMMY roasted potatoes. 

I look forward to seeing everyone again next week!

Take care!

Michael Coach

Hello Everyone! 

Today we played with Fire!  Well...we learned how to start and put out a fire safely using basic tools that people have used for hundreds of years.
 
First we looked at the different tools; flint and steel.  These can be struck together to make a spark that can then be used to make a fire.  But we need some type of material that can burn well. 

So we learned how to make char cloth.  100% cotton cloth can be smoked inside of a tin can over a fire to make the char cloth. This cloth burns easily but slowly so it can be used to start other burnable material like hemp rope or palm tree fibers.

Then we made a hole and a safe area for creating our fire.

Finally, we made a nest out of burnable materials and sparked out flint and steel until the fabric caught a spark.  Then by blowing on the spark, we can build heat and finally ignite the other materials. 

After creating fires, we practiced putting them out by covering them with dirt and water. 

I look forward to seeing everyone again next week!

Regards,
Michael Coach

Hello Everyone!

I hope you are all well. 

Today we made dried Daikon and Carrot kimpira.  Last time, we made dried daikon, which we placed into water to reconstitute for cooking.  After soaking in water for 20 minutes, it was ready to cook.  

      



  
 

We also took turns slicing, shredding, and adding different ingredients to the kimpira.  Once all the ingredients were mixed into the pot, we left them on the fire for about 20 minutes for the flavors to blend and the liquid to disappear. 

While we waited, we went around the farm and searched for seeds to bring home.  We found a wide variety of seeds: okura, eggplant, pepper, marigolds, and a few more. 
 

 
When our kimpira was finally done, we dished it out and enjoyed it by the warm stove inside the farm house. 

 
I look forward to seeing everyone next time!


Have a wonderful week!

Coach Michael