Growing Together: Open Forum

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  • 1.  Year at a Glance Topics

    Posted 08-26-2024 11:48:00 AM

    Hi everyone - Happy Back to School and gardening for most of us! I am starting year three of teaching in the garden here in Virginia. I'm looking at my year as a whole and starting to plan and try to freshen things up a bit. I'm wondering if anyone would be willing to share their topics for the year, whether that be by months or week or season? I have a pretty good base but would love to see what others are teaching. Of course we work with the seasons but curious about what topics you hit within each seasonal theme. Thanks so much! 



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    Alicia H Rodriguez
    Fredericksburg VA
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  • 2.  RE: Year at a Glance Topics

    Posted 08-28-2024 09:24:00 PM

    Hi Alicia,

    Responding from just up the road in Fairfax County.  We work supporting many schools with gardens. We offer professional development support to our teacher leaders and offer an opportunity every month related to a sustainability topic.  I teach a course in October on fall gardening focusing on preparing gardens for cool weather crops including techniques like using row covers and cold frames to extend the growing season. Many of our schools experimented with cold weather sowing using milk jugs last year and had a lot of success. Our team has been working with our curriculum teams to align environmental stewardship and outdoor learning to the curriculum at all grade levels.

    Our 2nd grade curriculum includes the monarch lie cycle which is presenting some climate related challenges.  We will be doing further investigation.  Many schools have pollinator gardens and I've been offering advice on appreciating these special gardens as habitats throughout the year. Another popular topic is sensory gardens. We have included this topic in a PD on SEL in the garden and have taught teachers and counselors how to use their outdoor spaces to support SEL.  We have even created a lending mandala exploration lending kit that schools can check out. It has been very popular and can easily incorporate seasonal observations.  I learned about this from attending the American Horticultural Society's annual National children and Youth Garden Symposium.  If you 've never heard of it or attended, check it out.  It is phenomenal. You will bring back so many tools and ideas.

    Just a few ideas. Feel free to contact me if you'd like to explore further!



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    [Karen] [Taylor]
    [Get2Green Support Specialist]
    [Fairfax County Public Schools]
    [Fairfax] [VA]
    [She,Her]
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Year at a Glance Topics

    Posted 08-29-2024 08:34:00 AM

    Thanks for responding Karen! I have checked out your program online, you all are doing amazing things up there! I love how you make the garden easy for the teachers to access on their own. I am the only one in our school (and county) doing a gardening program where I pull SEL and ESOL students once a week into the space. I would love if more staff had access to it for their students as well. I would be very interested in seeing your mandala lending kit if you have any pictures or directions to share. So far, I haven't been able to make it to a American Horticultural Society's annual National children and Youth Garden Symposium conference but it's always on my radar! They haven't announced a location yet for 2025 have they? Thanks for all your thoughtful advice. 



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    Alicia H Rodriguez
    Fredericksburg VA
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Year at a Glance Topics

    Posted 09-01-2024 11:30:00 AM

    Hi Alicia,

    I'm in OH working in an inner city public school.  I manage a program called the Tea Project that focuses on herbalism and mindfulness.  I partner with

    a garden educator and we do weekly classes with 3 1st grade classes and some project-based work with higher grades.   Season and cycles drive the lesson

    plans.  With this younger crew we look for learning "sparks" when we take a class out to the garden.  We emphsize respect and learning about habitat and specific

    plants.  We grow herbs, the kids harvest, dry and process to create teas.  We are planting a fall garden of lettuces and radishes.  They are decorating cardboard boxes with 

    paint and then planting into them.  We will reuse the soil when completed to fill the existing raised beds.  We celebrate the seasonal changes (equinoxes, solstices) with ceremony and play.  I have a big earth ball and they create the movements.  Kids love being the sun in the center of the big circle! Then we play with the ball.

    We work on decomposers in the fall.  They will bring their pumpkins after Halloween and we will put them in the garden beds and study through the winter the breakdown.

    That's a small sample of seasonal lessons but the possibilities are endless.  What I have learned is the kids will show me what interests them and I can run with

    it.  And kids learn best when they are outside and having fun!

    Janet



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    Janet Lawson
    Ruskin Elementary School, Dayton Public School System
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    Original Message


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