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  • 1.  Garden Choreography & "Magic Phrases": How do you manage full-sized classes?

    Posted 23 days ago

    Hi Gardeneers!

    Let's talk about the beautiful, chaotic dance that is teaching a full-sized class (25–36+ kids) in a garden space. My team would love to hear from some battle-hardened garden educators regarding the insane amount of choreography that it takes to keep everyone safe and engaged.

    Brilliant hive mind, please share your wisdom for these two areas:

    1. The Logistics: What are your "crowd control" hacks?

    How do program the choreography? How do you keep the rest of the class occupied while you do small group hands-on skills training? Do you use a specific station rotation? Do you have "waiting zone" activities (like bug hunting or journaling) while you work with a small group? How do you engage classroom teachers (if they come with the class) in supporting outdoor classroom management? How do your tactics vary by age band?

    2. The Scripts: What are your "magic phrases" for kids?

    Sometimes the right wording crystallizes a thought and  captures a child's attention. For example, one educator shared that she uses the prompt "Show me how you hold your tools safely." It instantly flips the kid into "expert mode" and they freeze and demonstrate their safe posture.

    What are your go-to talking points or verbal scripts? How do you word instructions so they don't accidentally pull up a crop instead of a weed, step in a bed or water weeds?



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    Christina Abuelo
    School Garden Equity Catalyst
    Barrio Botany
    San Diego, CA

    m: 858-210-2628
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Garden Choreography & "Magic Phrases": How do you manage full-sized classes?

    Posted 18 days ago

    When the students come out to the garden, they need some reminders that it is a living classroom, not the playground. It's a more open setting for them that allows them to move and explore but they also thrive with routine. I have two simple rules; walk at all times and keep voices low. When a class comes to the garden, they meet me at the same place to hear the instructions for the activity. I often have a hand created poster to give them some basic facts and I might even write out the steps for the activity for them to refer back to.  I keep my presentation short and get tools/materials in their hands quickly. The tools/materials they need are ready to go. I usually have them working in teams. For example, If we are making compost tea, four students are working together with a bucket, stirrer, compost, water. If they are working individually,doing nature art or a scavenger hunt, they can collaborate with other students. If we are doing hands on work in the garden, I might introduce a new tool or explain how to plant seeds, but then the students can pick from 5 tasks that need to get done that day. I use the teacher to help engage the students in the activity. I leave time at the end for students to organize the tools and meet me back at our meeting spot to recap the lesson and do an offer of gratitude. 



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    Evelyn Margolin
    Sacramento, CA
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  • 3.  RE: Garden Choreography & "Magic Phrases": How do you manage full-sized classes?

    Posted 16 days ago

    I have come to the conclusion that when students leave their regular classrooms and arrive at the garden en masse they feel freed of their usual constraints and just want to TALK. I have also found that a group chant I borrowed from my child's toddler music class helps ground the students and by the end of the chant they are quiet and listening, as long as I *immediately* launch into my brief garden talk and instructions. I invite the kids to do the following call & response chant with hand movements at different volumes following my example, sometimes really loud, sometimes a whisper. I feel like the secret to it's success is that it incorporates the whole body--voice, hands, brain (with the imagery) and the mirroring part--they really have to listen in order to mirror what I'm doing. 

    Me: BROccoli, BROccoli, SWEET potato!

    Students: BROccoli, BROccoli, SWEET potato  (then Repeat; hand motion is keeping time by tapping hands on one's lap or on the picnic table)

    Me: SNAP peas, SNAP peas - SQUASH, SQUASH, SQUASH

    Students: SNAP peas, SNAP peas - SQUASH, SQUASH, SQUASH (then Repeat; hand motion is snapping with each snap pea & then fists banging together 3X for squashsquashsquash)

    Me: ArUgula, arUgula

    Students: ArUgula, arUgula (then Repeat; hand motion is cupping the mouth and hollering to the sky like a horn with each 2nd syllable "oooo" sound)

    Me: MUSHrooms, MUSHrooms, MUSHrooms 

    Me: MUSHrooms, MUSHrooms, MUSHrooms (then Repeat; hand motion is 2 downward facing cup shapes with the hands, like the caps of a mushroom, right hand down on MUSH, left hand down on ROOMS.

    Bonus: When things get loud in the garden and I have an announcement to make, I can yell, "BROccoli, BROccoli, SWEET potato!" and then I add, "Put a bubble in it!" (they make a bubble with their closed lips and mouth). They repeat that line back in chant form, and then I follow up with my instruction. 

    I always always try to keep my garden talks brief and get the hands-on part going as fast as I can. Sometimes I split the class in two or more and have students making observations in their nature journals around the garden while I'm working closely with a smaller group on something that requires more supervision. 



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    Maya Hagege-Sinderbrand
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  • 4.  RE: Garden Choreography & "Magic Phrases": How do you manage full-sized classes?

    Posted 15 days ago

    Maya, this is amazing! What age groups do you use this for? Also, do you happen to have a video of the chant? It definitely sounds infectious!



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    Christina Abuelo
    School Garden Equity Catalyst
    Barrio Botany
    San Diego, CA

    m: 858-210-2628
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Garden Choreography & "Magic Phrases": How do you manage full-sized classes?

    Posted 14 days ago

    This is it for me! Whole body movement and voice modulation. Works for all ages. I love the chant, anything similar will work!

    Do you have a tune you use for the chant? I collect interactive songs and would love to add this!



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    Mark Carilli
    Fillmore CA
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    Original Message


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