AILSA CHANG, HOST:
As teachers head back to school after summer break, those in small towns probably saw a lot more of their students than teachers in cities did. Laura Palmisano from member station KVNF has the story of one Colorado teacher who ended up with a summer education project without even trying.
LAURA PALMISANO, BYLINE: Jackilyn Gleason has been a teacher for three decades. She's got a Ph.D. in education and now teaches elementary classes in tiny Lake City, Colorado - population about 400. In the summers, she prefers gardening.
JACKILYN GLEASON: I've always done it. And I mean, it's always fun to plant a seed and watch things grow.
PALMISANO: On Wednesday, she sells homemade goods and her surplus produce at the farmers market in town. Today, there are five vendors.
GLEASON: Swiss chard, all the greens because it grows so well out there - I have lots of radishes - and then all the herbs, so, like, basil, tarragon.
PALMISANO: And she sometimes shares her passion for gardening with her fourth and fifth-grade students.
GLEASON: In fact, we had the worms in the classroom this year, and the kids learned about composting and feeding worms.
PALMISANO: Just after school let out for the summer this year, one student asked if she could sell homemade earrings next to Gleason. She obliged.
GLEASON: Then, you know, there was another kid who wanted to, and then there was another kid, and I thought, well, you guys just need to have your own booth. And I can't say no to anybody because they're all cute, little human beings.
PALMISANO: Today, there are five students selling everything from painted rocks to baked goods to jewelry.
JUDAH PANKRATZ: I mean, they - you can, like, pull them really...
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Pull them away? Yeah.
JUDAH: And they'll stretch. They stretch in water.
PALMISANO: Judah Pankratz, a soon-to-be fifth grader, is selling bracelets he made from paracord.
JUDAH: I know I've made at least 200. But some of that money has - goes to buying new materials, new buckles and more cord.
PALMISANO: Gleason says having her students sell at the farmers market allows them to continue learning when school is out. And she didn't have to write a lesson plan. It was just small-town serendipity.
GLEASON: I think there's a lot of math skills, a lot of marketing, cooperation, collaboration, responsibility, working with people they don't know, communication.
PALMISANO: Gleason hopes the kids are back next summer too. For NPR News, I'm Laura Palmisano in Lake City, Colorado. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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