Growing Together: Open Forum

Hello Everyone,

I am a Garden Coordinator in an Elementary School in Swannanoa, NC.  I am starting a Garden Club for 5th Graders.  I wanted to know what are some resources such as videos, coloring sheets, books, themes, games that I can use for them?  I have a Garden at the school and the students will be working and doing hands on learning about plants, flowers, and soil.  I appreciate any advice anyone can give.  Thank you Karen Chapman

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Karen Chapman
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The book Math in the Garden that you can buy from this site is a great book. Some ideas are teach them to use a compass, do scavenger hunts or have them create their own, do some nature journaling, look at patterns in nature by making a mandala (leave, stick, flower, repeat), make compost tea, make a nature box, examine the soil, do sheet mulching, make signs for the garden, do a lesson on ecosystems or biodiversity. For worksheets, go to Teachers Pay Teachers website. Lots of free stuff. 

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Evelyn Margolin
Sacramento, CA
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Original Message:
Sent: 9/16/2024 5:18:00 PM
From: Evelyn Margolin
Subject: RE: Resources to use for 5th Graders in a Garden Club?

The book Math in the Garden that you can buy from this site is a great book. Some ideas are teach them to use a compass, do scavenger hunts or have them create their own, do some nature journaling, look at patterns in nature by making a mandala (leave, stick, flower, repeat), make compost tea, make a nature box, examine the soil, do sheet mulching, make signs for the garden, do a lesson on ecosystems or biodiversity. For worksheets, go to Teachers Pay Teachers website. Lots of free stuff. 

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Evelyn Margolin
Sacramento, CA
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I don't know how I missed this one.  Thank you for sharing! 

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Cindy Abel
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Original Message:
Sent: 09-16-2024 05:57:27 PM
From: John Fisher
Subject: Resources to use for 5th Graders in a Garden Club?

Hi Karen,

Have you seen Sprouts Scouts - it is a resource that Life Lab helped develop for after school gardening clubs. It has four units each with a gardening task/activities, health and nutrition lesson and edible activity.

https://foodcorps.org/sprout-scouts/

You might also find our blog to be useful https://www.lifelab.org/school-garden-resources

Lastly our youtube channel has many great videos on easy to do activities in the garden. This playlist is specifically on garden activities:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3299B838956E2A94&si=Lt4v4WF0pRPRcEyX

Best,

-- JOHN
John Fisher - Director of Programs & Partnerships - 831.471.7831 - 
Life Lab cultivates children's love of learning, healthy food, and nature through garden-based education. A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with locations in Santa Cruz and Watsonville, CA

Original Message:
Sent: 9/16/2024 5:18:00 PM
From: Evelyn Margolin
Subject: RE: Resources to use for 5th Graders in a Garden Club?

The book Math in the Garden that you can buy from this site is a great book. Some ideas are teach them to use a compass, do scavenger hunts or have them create their own, do some nature journaling, look at patterns in nature by making a mandala (leave, stick, flower, repeat), make compost tea, make a nature box, examine the soil, do sheet mulching, make signs for the garden, do a lesson on ecosystems or biodiversity. For worksheets, go to Teachers Pay Teachers website. Lots of free stuff. 

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Evelyn Margolin
Sacramento, CA
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Hi Karen,

I just saw your post in the October Kids Garden Community News, and notice that you're located in the part of North Carolina hit hard by the hurricane flooding. Just wanted to say I thinking about you and hope you and your community are safe. I'm sure it's unlikely you'll see this soon, but when you do, can you give us an update with how things are and how we might be able to support you?

With warm thoughts,

Amber

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Amber Keller
Massachusetts Master Gardener
Life Lab-Certified School Garden Educator
Natick, MA
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Hi Karen!

Check out the resources from Kids Gardening.  Look under the resources tab.  Lots of ready to use activities to enjoy with your students.

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JACQUELINE LACEY
Kimbark Elementary School
San Bernardino CA
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That sounds like such a fun and educational project! For resources, you could check out some great kids' gardening books like The Curious Garden by Peter Brown or Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert. There are also tons of fun videos on YouTube, like the SciShow Kids gardening episodes, which break down plant growth in a fun and engaging way. For games, you could try making plant bingo with different flowers, vegetables, or soil types, or have them create garden-themed coloring sheets like flowers, bees, and trees. You might also consider creating a garden scavenger hunt or a "plant lifecycle" chart to help them track the growth of their garden. And if you're looking for more hands-on learning, websites like Kids Gardening or National Gardening Association have tons of great activities and printables that could work for your group!

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Kate Brownell
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Some ideas are scavenger hunts or make them create their own, find patterns in nature (make a mandala with a paper plate and objects they find on the ground, flower pounding, seed saving (make paper envelopes to put them in), make a wind vane, make a prototype for a bat house (shoe box0 or a bee box (small lunch milk cartons, a bit of homemade play dough, and paper straws), throw a pollinator party (make masks), make a May flower cone basket, create a garden journal, compare roots,, study scavengers and decomposers, talk about ecosystems and biodiversity, do some bird watching. Definitely look at the lesson in the kidsgardening.org resources plus the botany book and math in the garden book has some great ideas. For worksheets, get on Teachers Pay Teachers, lots of free stuff.

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Evelyn Margolin
Sacramento, CA
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I have a garden club that started last year for 4th and 5th graders and it has been amazing.  We painted rocks to decorate the garden and made them look like all different kinds of bugs and insects, we built birdhouses and decorated those, we have done science lessons on pollinators, we started carrots indoors in see through containers to observe the roots and growth and then transplanted them into the garden when they got big enough and we made seed tape.  We also researched recipes using the herbs we grew in the garden and then made a few so that the students could taste everything (tomato sauce with basil, lemonade with mint, mozzarella drizzled with balsamic and basil, etc.)  The scavenger hunt ideas I saw in other comments are great and we have done 2!  We also played a game with the watering cans and did a relay race to see which team could water the most plants in 5 minutes.  

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Michelle Stack
Dallas TX
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