Skip to content

Ready for back-to-school prep? We can help!

FREE FIRST WEEK LESSON PLANS
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Facebook Group
  • Free Resource Library
Search
Shop Now
Teaching with a Mountain View

Literacy

Grammar

Novels & Picture Books

Novels & Picture Books

Math

Anchor Charts

Anchor Charts

Classroom

Classroom

Teaching with a Mountain View

Composting Podcast

Hello! Enjoy our composting podcast by clicking “Play” on the video below. This podcast episode is part of my Earth Day Reading Comprehension Project.

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!

What do allll of these things have in common? They What do allll of these things have in common? They’re all part of Prime Day, and they are all actually worth it. 😜 Drop a comment below, and I’ll send you my carefully curated list of books and supplies. ❤️❤️
Year FOUR of implementing this series of lessons, Year FOUR of implementing this series of lessons, and I am still so excited about it. ✏️ Drop a comment, and I’ll send you a link to allllll the details and books! 

🫶

Over the course of sever days, we read all four of these sweet books (which all feature pencil and eraser as the main characters), analyze and compare the characters, and write themes and lessons learned from the books. You can pick and choose to read any combination of the four!

‼️ All of the books focus on similar themes… 

⭐️ We can be different and still be wonderful. 

⭐️ Working together can have the most unexpectedly beautiful results. 

⭐️ It’s so important to value the skills and knowledge everyone brings to the table. 

⭐️ Mistakes are fixable and make us great!

⭐️ There really is no such thing as perfect  because “perfect” looks different for everyone.

#kidsbooks #books #childrensbooks #kidlit #read #backtoschool #firstweekofschool #teacher #iteachreading
There are two questions I always get from parents: There are two questions I always get from parents: 1️⃣”What should I work on with them over the summer?” and 2️⃣ “What books do you recommend for my child?” 💥 So, I put together a FREE resource for you to send home to help parents support their kids over the summer! 

🛑 It’s not a big printable packet or workbook full of worksheets — instead, it has book lists, skill lists, and even quick activity suggestions to help guide parents over the summer! 

Comment below, and I’ll send you the link to download it! 💕❤️
Comment below, and I’ll send you a link to the F Comment below, and I’ll send you a link to the FREE assignment sheet and more info! 🌟 🌟 

Just say noooo to those end of book tests and packets of endless comprehension questions. Say “YES” to super fun cumulative novel projects. 🤗 I’ve been doing this one — where kids create an Amazon listing for their book — for YEARS, and it never gets old!
We end our school year the same way we started it, We end our school year the same way we started it, and it always warms my heart to see how far we’ve come. 💕❤️🥰 I’ve adapted Find Someone Who to have an end of the year twist, and it’s a really special, sweet way to see kids come together for a few minutes at the end of the year! 

It’s FREE and no prep! Just drop a comment below, and I’ll send it to you. 💕❤️
I LOVE planning for the end of the year. Comment “Last Week!” below, and I’ll send you all the links! 💕

I’m a big believer in keeping our schedule as consistent as possible and continuing to have high expectations while also embracing the fun and celebration that comes with the end of the school year! Each of these activities accomplishes just that — total engagement but consistency right until the very end! ☀️
It’s time! ☀️ Over the last 16 years, I’ve It’s time! ☀️ Over the last 16 years, I’ve perfected my lesson plans for the last two weeks of school. Comment PLANS below, and I’ll send them to you and help simplify your end of the year planning!
🚨 It is Teacher Care Week here at Teaching With 🚨 It is Teacher Care Week here at Teaching With a Mountain View! Baking cookies is one of my favorite ways to calm the chaos after a busy day in the classroom. 🥰 Since I can’t bake any for you, I’d love to send five of you a gift card to your favorite treat location! 

💕💕 Comment below with your favorite treat to see in the teacher’s lounge, and I’ll automatically enter you AND send you an exclusive FREE resource to use with your students!
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

Links

  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Facebook Group
  • Free Resource Library
  • Privacy Policy & Disclosures

Topics

  • Literacy
  • Math
  • Grammar
  • Anchor Charts
  • Classroom
  • Novels and Picture books

Shop

  • Shop Website
  • Shop Amazon
  • Wishlist
  • My Account
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Terms & Conditions

©2023 Teaching With a Mountain View . All Rights Reserved | Designed by Ashley Hughes

Lost your password?

Review Cart

No products in the cart.

🍪 Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
Scroll to top
Search
  • Home
  • Get Inspired
  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Free Resource Library
  • My Account
Shop Now

Literacy

Grammar

Novels & Picture Books

Novels & Picture Books

Math

Anchor Charts

Anchor Charts

Classroom

Classroom

Facebook X Instagram
Search