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Composting Podcast

Hello! Enjoy our composting podcast by clicking “Play” on the video below.

https://twamvdev.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/The-Benefits-of-Composting-🌱.mp4

0:01 Today we are joined by Maureen Yeoh who owns a two and a half acre farmette in Indiana. She and her family raised chickens, sheep, goats, rabbits, pigeons, and geese.

0:12 Maureen has over 30 years of experience growing some of her own food and composting. Maureen, thank you for joining us.

0:19 Thank you so much for having me. I have a lot of questions for you. First, what exactly is composting? Well, composting is gathering up your food scraps like any vegetable and fruit waste you might have after preparing your food.

0:34 You just save those, take them outside, and allow them to sort of decompose over time. As they decompose, they add new nutrients to the soil, and you can use these nutrients to feed your garden or allow them to seep into the ground.

0:47 So composting is a better way to take care of that type of waste than just throwing it in your trash can.

0:52 It’s like reusing all the food scraps you would have thrown away otherwise. That’s really cool. I didn’t realize you could save all those feed scraps.

1:00 Can you throw any type of food in the compost? You can add any fruits or vegetables in their scraps. So seeds, skin, whatever.

1:08 You can also put eggshells and coffee grounds in there. Grass clippings are great too. You definitely shouldn’t put any meat scraps or oil in though.

1:17 The fat you cut off a chicken before cooking it or the bones cannot be put into the compost bin. No dairy products either.

1:24 But fruits and veggies are fair game. Just stick the veggie and fruit scraps in your compost bin as you’re cutting them.

1:31 Where do you keep your compost bin? Doesn’t it get smelter? It can be, but typically when you save your food scraps, you just get a little bucket that you keep under your sink.

1:41 Then when you’re done cutting up onions or peeling a banana or an orange or something like that, you can just take the scraps and put them into a bucket.

1:48 Put your lid on and it won’t smell. That stuff isn’t sitting there smelling. It’s covered up either on your kitchen counter or underneath your sink.

1:57 Then you just take it right outside so it’s not really smelly. When you say take it outside, what do you mean by that?

2:04 Where does it go? Just outside your house, apartment or wherever, you just make a little area to put your compost.

2:11 You can use a wire mesh fence or something like that or even old wood pallets to dedicate an area to your compost.

2:18 They do sell compost bins that you can get too. Do you need to have a fancy garden or a large outdoor space in order to compost?

2:27 Nope. You can do it pretty much anywhere you live as long as you have a place outside to put your food scraps.

2:32 You pro- We probably want it to be fenced in so that rats can’t get into it. Cover it and it will decompose over time.

2:40 We’ve had a few compost piles during our farm life and we just kind of pile it up and throw things in there.

2:45 It was so funny. One year we threw some squash scraps in there with the seeds. The next year we had a whole bunch of gourds growing in there.

2:54 That’s really neat. Are there any- Are there any bugs or anything that aid in the decomposition process? I know that some people like to do something called vermicomposting, which includes worms.

3:05 You keep a container either indoors or outdoors and you incorporate worms into your composting. Worms actually help food waste to break down more quickly and their waste has a lot of nutrients that are beneficial for your garden too.

3:19 I don’t know if I can do that. I hate worms. For people who do not use worms, how long does the decomposition process take?

3:29 Well, if you want to make the decomposition process move a little faster, you could cut your scraps into smaller pieces and mix and turn the contents every so often.

3:37 We don’t do that though. We kind of have a leave it and forget it mindset. It takes about a year for the contents of our pile to decompose since we don’t do anything to it.

3:47 If you mix your compost pile often, it’ll probably decompose in about three to five months. I was actually expecting it to take longer.

3:56 Not bad. So what exactly are the benefits of composting? Why do people do it? Oh, there are so many. Well, first of all, it reduces the amount of waste waste you’re sending to the landfill.

4:09 It also really does cut down on the smell in your garbage can inside because you’re not waiting so long to bring it to your trash can outside.

4:16 And most importantly, it’s so, so good for your soil. It gives it a ton of nutrients. Once the compost is decomposed and the soil is full of.

4:27 Nutrients, what do you do with it? You can put it anywhere there’s soil. If you have a bunch of indoor plants, you can incorporate.

4:34 Your compost soil into what’s already in the pots. The same goes for outdoor plants. You can mix it into the original soil or even sprinkle it on top.

4:43 Some people even use it as mulch. Wow, there is so much that can be done by composting. I’m really excited to get started.

4:51 Thank you so much for answering all our questions and spending time with us today. Of course. Composting really is pretty simple and it’s great for the earth.

5:00 You’re going to do great. Happy composting!

I LOVE using pictures to engage students in practi I LOVE using pictures to engage students in practicing important comprehension skills! ❄️ Drop a comment below, and I’ll send you the link to this free winter resource! 🤗
It’s the perfect time of year to teach Holidays It’s the perfect time of year to teach Holidays Around the World, and I’ve created a Celebrations Around the World unit like you’ve never experienced before! 🎉 Drop a comment below (or use the link in my profile), and I’ll send you a link to this cross curricular project that hits so many math and literacy skills! 🎉 

https://bit.ly/HolidaysAroundtheWorldBundle
❄️ ⛅️ Winter (Solstice) is coming, and it’s the PERFECT topic of study right now! PLUS: Comment for a chance to WIN all these books AND get 25% off the mega bundle of Literacy Skill of the Month (AND everything else in my store) all day Monday and Tuesday! 🤩 

❗️ If you’d like the link to the Literacy Skill of the Month set that the passage and tasks came from, drop a comment below with the word “winter!” Each commenter will also be entered to WIN a set of the books shown here!! I’ll randomly select a winner Monday night! ❄️❄️

❄️ More Info: You know I LOVE a good paired text selection, and I selected three different picture books that present the information in very different ways — realistic fiction, informational, and through verse — and added in an informational text passage and video. ✨ It became the perfect lesson on compiling information from multiple sources! This anchor chart is an easy way to gather the info in one place before synthesizing it!
I LOVE using enrichment binders for my high-achiev I LOVE using enrichment binders for my high-achieving students. Want to see all the resources inside for November? Drop a comment with the word “enrich” and I’ll send you a ton of info with all the details! 💥 

Now… why enrichment binders? 🧐 

While everything inside can be used with most students in any classroom, I often use then with my GT students. I’m a firm believer that students who have mastered material should have DIFFERENT work, not just MORE work. 

That means when students have shown mastery or have completed enough tasks to show us they are ready to move on, we need to have something ready for them! While that is oftentimes a differentiated task related to the topic at hand, if we’re being realistic, that can be a TON of extra work for teachers to manage all day every day. 

That’s where enrichment binders come in! The content inside is rigorous and meaningful and will challenge and advance them academically while still remaining SUPER engaging.
I'm a total and complete word nerd, so it is no su I'm a total and complete word nerd, so it is no surprise that word study gives me LIFE, and this starter set is FREE! 👩‍🏫 ⁣Comment the word “WORD” below, and I’ll send you a link!
THIS is the project I always hear rave reviews abo THIS is the project I always hear rave reviews about from kids AND parents! 🍽️ Thanksgiving Dinner Digits goes beyond a typical “Plan Thanksgiving Dinner” assignment and has students timing the meal prep, thawing the turkey, calculating serving sizes and costs, arranging seating at the dinner table, and more! Parents always comment that their kids finish with a newly found respect for the cost and thought behind Thanksgiving dinner and offer up more help prepping than ever before. 😍🧡

Comment the word “Dinner” below, and I’ll send a link your way! It’s perfect for grades 3-6 because it has several differentiated pages and uses numbers with and without decimals. I’m currently completing it with my gifted 3rd graders, and they are LOVING it!
I’ve found four perfect books to add into your l I’ve found four perfect books to add into your lessons over the next three weeks! 🍁 I’m using them to teach both academic and character lessons. I LOVE pairing picture books together and watching students draw connections between characters, settings, themes, and life lessons. 

The academic focus for this set is writing one-sentence main idea summaries and determining the topic vs. the theme. Drop the word FALL in the comments below, and I’ll send you the list of books and a still photo to recreate your own chart! 🍁
If you did what YOU needed to do this weekend, you If you did what YOU needed to do this weekend, you did the right thing. ❤️ As my favorite Peloton instructor would say, YOU DO YOU, BOO! 💕❤️

I’ve spent a lot of time trying to avoid working outside my contract hours because I feel like that’s what I keep hearing everyone say NOT to do. I haven’t gone in on a weekend all year, but I needed to go in for about an hour today to tidy up, prep for the week, and put my mind at ease. And that’s okay, too!
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