Amazing Three Sisters

What are the Three Sisters? The Three Sisters are beans, corn and squash. They are called the Three Sisters because they support each other. Corn stalks support the beans. The beans give nutrients to the soil for the other plants. The squash keeps the critters away from the other sisters and keeps the ground moist. The Native People relied upon the Three Sisters to sustain them.

Do you like to go outside? Well, we have an Outdoor Classroom where we learn about nature. Our Outdoor Classroom was a gift from the Dover PTO. Three PTO parents, Mrs. Pfeifer, Mrs. Fryer, and Mrs. Martin, wanted to support the third grade study of our state, Massachusetts. Last spring, the parents planted the 3 sisters and tended the garden all summer long. This fall, the parents met with the students in each of the third grade classrooms.

The parents informed the children about the Wampanoag People. Each year they celebrated the harvest with a special festival. The festival honored the 3 Sisters and their importance in sustaining the Wampanoag. At dawn, the festival began and lasted until late evening. People gathered at sunrise in the garden. They spoke words of thankfulness and burned a sacred herbal offering. Vegetables and flowers, such as corn, sunflowers, pumpkins, peas, and beans, were edible and stored for the next planting season. The women and girls picked and husked the corn. Laughing and singing was heard all throughout the evening. They also tended to kettles of corn soup and roasted corn over a fire. The children made dolls from corn husks and darts from corn cobs. Native People were the first recyclers, they used everything.

The third grade teachers and students really appreciated the parents’ time and efforts in growing and sharing the Three Sisters.

The Amazing 3 Sisters

Reported by Evan and Tommy