Growing Together: Open Forum

Would any of you be willing to share how you structure your garden time with students? Is it an open time or students can move through the space? Do they have stations?

I wanna mix things up a little bit from what I've been doing and would love to hear different formats to follow?

thanks in advance. 

Hi Lara-

What age students do you work with?  

Shauna Farmer

Chapel Hill, NC

Would any of you be willing to share how you structure your garden time with students? Is it an open time or students can move through the space? Do they have stations?

I wanna mix things up a little bit from what I've been doing and would love to hear different formats to follow?

thanks in advance. 

Hi Lara-

What age students do you work with?  

Shauna Farmer

Chapel Hill, NC

Would any of you be willing to share how you structure your garden time with students? Is it an open time or students can move through the space? Do they have stations?

I wanna mix things up a little bit from what I've been doing and would love to hear different formats to follow?

thanks in advance. 

Got it.  I work with middle school kids, so quite a different group.  What I've noticed across all groups (elementary, middle, adults) though is that a time for independent exploration and observation followed by discussion is often welcome.  The Teaching in Nature's Classroom course (https://www.teachinginnaturesclassroom.org/) introduced me to the prompts "I notice..." (to teach/encourage observation)," I wonder.." (to teach asking questions), and "It reminds me of..." (to teach making connections), and when kids seem stuck or overwhelmed, these can help get discussions started.  Even if we just start a session with 5 minutes of independent observation without much discussion (never enough time!), the students are more grounded to the space and ready to proceed.

I should note that I am a volunteer, and my background is healthcare, not teaching, so a lot of I've learned about working with kids has been learned from the excellent teachers I volunteer for!

Hi Lara-

What age students do you work with?  

Shauna Farmer

Chapel Hill, NC

Would any of you be willing to share how you structure your garden time with students? Is it an open time or students can move through the space? Do they have stations?

I wanna mix things up a little bit from what I've been doing and would love to hear different formats to follow?

thanks in advance. 

Would any of you be willing to share how you structure your garden time with students? Is it an open time or students can move through the space? Do they have stations?

I wanna mix things up a little bit from what I've been doing and would love to hear different formats to follow?

thanks in advance. 

Would any of you be willing to share how you structure your garden time with students? Is it an open time or students can move through the space? Do they have stations?

I wanna mix things up a little bit from what I've been doing and would love to hear different formats to follow?

thanks in advance. 

My first year was just a crazy year of learning. Tried doing too much. Last year I had A & B days. A - classroom lesson - May be garden related or STEM related, since we're a STEM school. B - Garden work - prepping, planting, cultivating, harvesting, weeding, etc. This year I am going to add a third rotation. With grant money that I received I purchased garden curriculum from Junior Master Gardener. The C rotation will now be garden lesson which could include garden time as well. 

All my classes start out with a reminder of the class expectations. I would assign what we were doing and then take them outside to get started. I found it was a lot to keep track of with so many areas being worked. I feel adding in stations and garden work as one of them will be easier. Let's see how this year goes.

Would any of you be willing to share how you structure your garden time with students? Is it an open time or students can move through the space? Do they have stations?

I wanna mix things up a little bit from what I've been doing and would love to hear different formats to follow?

thanks in advance. 

Would any of you be willing to share how you structure your garden time with students? Is it an open time or students can move through the space? Do they have stations?

I wanna mix things up a little bit from what I've been doing and would love to hear different formats to follow?

thanks in advance.