A few weeks ago I planted rice with the 1st and 2nd year students at my Junior High School. The field was about 4 or 5 blocks from the school in a seemingly random area surounded by houses. I am not sure if the field belongs to the school or is privately owned. The students went in 2 goups (1st years, then 2nd) out to the field. Of course, before they went to the field the principle gave a speech (I have learned that speeches will happen before every event) and then a farmer told them the finer points to rice planting. Each group spent about 1 hour planting rice and then cleaning up after. I went with both groups and forgot my sunscreen, I was rewarded with a minor sunburn.

The students each took a small clump of rice plants, which contained about 40-60 small stalks of rice. They would break off about 2-4 stalks to stick into the mud. They kept the plants in nice rows by planting along a string which the teachers moved when the students where done with that row. Most of the girls screamed when getting into the ankle deep mud or whenever they saw an animal crawling threw the muck. Some of the boys started minor mud fights, getting incredibly dirty. Overall it was a hilarious spectackle.

More photos are here. Some videos: Getting Muddy - Planting Rice - Getting Clean