WATCH: This Is What It Looks Like When Michelle Obama Surprises A Classroom of 5th Graders
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First Lady Michelle Obama made an unexpected visit to Watkins Elementary School in southeast Washington, D.C., where fifth grade students were pleasantly surprised to see her. The visit marked the beginning of her spring garden tour, celebrating the seventh anniversary of the White House Kitchen Garden, which is a part of her Let’s Move initiative.
Mrs. Obama commended the students at Watkins for their amazing garden and expressed her pride in them. She wanted to showcase the incredible work they were doing and how they were learning about healthy eating through their garden and school. She then joined the students in a cooking session, where they made corn tortillas from scratch using beans and squash. Mrs. Obama expressed her enthusiasm, stating that she had never made tortillas like that before.
During the visit, the First Lady surprised the students of Watkins Elementary School with some garden goodies to help kickstart their school garden for the year. The school already has a flourishing garden that educates students about the benefits of locally sourced food. Mrs. Obama assisted the students in making Three Sisters tacos, using corn tortillas they made from scratch and a side of kale salad using kale harvested from their garden. #LetsMove
In another surprise visit, Mrs. Obama visited John Burroughs Elementary, where she was greeted with a warm hug from one of the students. She then joined the students in digging out earthworms from compost, showcasing the magic of worm composting and how it returns nutrients to the soil. This school, too, has its own gardens that the students tend to throughout the year, learning about the growth of fruits and vegetables outside their classroom windows. #LetsMove
The White House Kitchen Garden was established in 2009 on the South Lawn of the White House, and elementary school students have always played a significant role in its development and maintenance. Bancroft Elementary School students were involved in the initial planting, which included 55 varieties of vegetables such as cilantro, hot peppers, Thai basil, lettuce varieties, and a berry patch, as reported by the New York Times. Mrs. Obama regularly invites local elementary students to the White House for activities related to planting, harvesting, and cooking.
If you would like to bring the First Lady’s gardening initiative to your school, you can find a School Garden Checklist on the Let’s Move website. Additionally, you can gather your students for a healthy cooking lesson by using the healthy recipes from the White House Kitchen.
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