Tumbles of Fruits and Vegetables at Chatsworth

by Joan Rosen of the Mamaroneck School District

(December 22, 2005) What happens when you have too much fruit in one space? They fall down, of course. And that is what inspired Greta Maneker to come up with the name “Tumbles of Fruit and Vegetables” for the market that she and her first grade classmates at Chatsworth Avenue School staged this week.

The Tumbles market was open for business on Tuesday and Wednesday, December 20 and 21. The first graders worked hard to set up the market and then took turns staffing the different jobs—selling, packing, serving hot apple cider and being cashier. All of the “workers” wore their specially designed hats and t-shirts. Their customers were other Chatsworth students, teachers and parents.

What was the best part of the market? Charlotte Brosnan thought setting up was the most fun, but added that it was hard work. She and a friend, Isabella Anderson, were eager to sell the fruit on their table and had to entice some customers when their pears weren’t selling well. They both talked about how much fun it was to have a market with real products and real money, compared to the Play-doh products and fake money that they use when they play at home. Isabella’s father commented that the market was “amazing” and good for giving the kids a try at being real salespeople.

The market study was the result of an integrated curriculum which allows many content areas to support an investigation of a singular study. This is a direct interpretation of John Dewey’s theory that children learn by doing. In this case, the children were doing research, reading, science, planning, arithmetic and art, among other activities.

The Tumbles market is the culmination of several months of work for GenineMarie Coccoli and Ruth Roemer’s first grade classes. The students visited local markets, including Simply The Best and the Larchmont Meateria, and ventured to Stuart’s apple orchard and the markets on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx.

After all their research, the first graders came up with a name and a logo which they used for posters, t-shirts and hats to advertise their market. Louisa Martin’s logo was placed on each child’s t-shirt. The market was decorated with large hanging fruits made by the students. These creations will be given to Pat Starpoli, the owner of Simply the Best, to hang in his fruit and vegetable store, as a thank you for his generosity and help with many aspects of this project.

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