If I had a seed for every time I’ve been asked “What do the garden clubs do in the winter?” I’m not sure how many seeds I’d have, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have to order any.
The main goal in the winter has been to instill enough knowledge about soil, water, and seeds so that when the time comes to actually work in the garden, the kids can apply what they’ve learned and work more independently. So when the weather is beautiful again we can have less "classroom" time and more garden time.
Learning about plant and soil science without the hands-on application of a live garden can be a challenge only overcome with creativity. To make things a little more challenging for the teacher, the garden clubs are after school, and most kids do NOT want to sit down and learn more after the bell rings at 3:15. So we learn and demonstrate our new knowledge with activities, games, cooking healthy snacks, and adding observations, drawings, and poems to our garden journals. Which is more fun than sitting around regurgitating facts, anyways.
In addition to being enjoyable (and feeling less like school), drawings and writings are also great ways for teachers to evaluate students' comprehension of what they're learning. When we draw parts of the plant or write a poem about bugs, it's a way for me to assess how much the kids are observing, learning, and applying, and how effective of a teacher I am.
And because they're just so whimsical and great, I've decided to post some of my favorite drawings and poems from the year so far. Feast your eyes on some of the best the garden clubs have to offer!
-Kat Bawden
Powell Elementary 1st graders
Activity: Draw parts of the plant -- the roots, stem, leaves, seeds, flower, and/or fruit.
Coming soon... pictures of us starting our seeds!
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI wanted to email you in regards in any possible advertising opportunities you may have with your website...I would be very interested in working something out with you if you have anything at the moment. I'm looking to earn support for a national cause and get visibility for the "plant 1 billion trees" project which Andrew Liveris and the Nature Conservancy have partnered up on for people to donate $1 to. Let me know if you would be interested at all in supporting this cause. I look forward to talking to you soon!
Nerissa