The Garden School Project

The Garden School Project:  “Put on Your Green Shoes.”
Approximately 100 students 1^st through 5^th grade participated in building the organic vegetable garden. They built raised beds and put together a worm and compost bin, dug a mound for potatoes, dug mounds for squash, placed rocks to mark beds on the ground and planted trees. We built a weather station on a big bamboo pole with a thermometer, rain gauge and wind sock.

Pinwheels twirled in the beds! They stuffed a scarecrow and built a bamboo teepee for the pole beans and long beans. We have watering cans and a hose for the students to water their plants. They painted signs for the garden in English and Spanish.. Everyone contributed to the “The 21st Century Kid’s Garden” sign by signing their name on a tree cookie and glueing it on the sign.

Every class planted a tree: a Sargent Crabapple, an eastern redbud, a Washington Hawthorn, a Goldenraintree, and a white flowering dogwood. They put down newspaper and straw to keep the weeds down. Harvest has started and we have onions, peppers, tomatoes, squash, potatoes, beans, and turnip greens. The herbs are surviving and the kids love to smell them. We planted a rosemary hedge around the garden and some peanuts and sunflowers too.

Creative arts are important in our program and very valuable to teaching. Kids stay interested, active and engaged. Each child had a garden project book and a songbook of the ten songs they learned this year. We did a video of their music.

They drew pictures of trees and flowers, made rain sticks, clay seed pots, seed prints, sun prints, created constellations on the wall with glow- in - the - dark stars of different sizes, created leaf and bark rubbings on a scavenger hunt, made bubble prints, and food chains.
We painted the leaf scars on a large branch from the Tree of Heaven today. The scars look like hearts. We are going to put it in our garden. The air quality is not good outside now and it is very hot 96’. I hope fall comes sooner than later. Summer came as spring this year. I can’t wait to plant a cooler fall garden with them.

They learned about conservation and recycling and developed skills they can use for the rest of their lives. The garden shows the children’s strength, ability, and love for the outdoors and nature. Our staff and partners have made this happen and we have all grown. We are developing deep roots for lifelong learners

I cannot express to you the great opportunities outdoors and the broad curriculum that one can teach outdoors as well as the great exercise and health benefits. The outdoor classroom is an integrated context for learning. It has fostered a love and understanding of the natural environment and natural resources, enhanced the core curriculum in math, language, health and science, given students an understanding of the interdependence of life, helped them overcome some fears about nature, improved attitudes towards the environment and instilled in them a love and reverence for nature. We are growing environmental champions! They have learned to share, take responsibility, and work as a team. We have developed an active curriculum for the student that improves communication skills, increases their knowledge and understanding of each other, promotes peace, and brings about healthy changes in their lives, our community and the world. Sound nutrition and physical activity are an important part of their health and development and this program and play an important role in academic achievement. Gardening is a way to learn the consequences of one’s actions in a very direct way.

I challenge you to get on the train to helping kids grow towards a healthy and inspiring discovery of the outdoors. The outdoor classroom reclaims the heart in education. Freedom comes with self-control, caring, sharing, and kindness and these grow in a garden. “Put on Your Green Shoes.”
Introduction:
The outdoor classroom reclaims the heart in education. Freedom comes with self-control, caring, sharing, and kindness. These grow in our garden - along with one hundred 1^st through 5^th graders from the Woodlands Heights School who are in the after school program and summer camp.

2. The Garden Project:
     1) Walked and discussed the site for Garden
     2) Planning, Measuring, and Staking Beds
     3) Making the Worm Bin
     4) Marking, cutting, fitting together and spiking together 5 beds
     5) Placing the beds and digging mounds for squash and potatoes
     6) Digging out bowls to plant 5 trees
     7) Digging holes to plant rosemary hedge
     8) Mixing clay, leaves and organic soil in beds
     9) Planting seeds and seedlings
10) Dig hole for bamboo pole for the weather Station
   11) Dig a trench for Beans and Teepee
   12) Measuring and laying out the Bean Pole Teepee
   13) Raising the Teepee
   14) Build a scarecrow
   15) Mulching with newspaper and straw
   16) Paint signs in English and Spanish to put in the Garden
   17) Water the Garden
   18) Smell the Herb Garden
   19) Harvesting the Garden
   20) Garden celebration
Science Programs given in conjunction with gardening program:
1. Garden Tools and How to Use Them
2. Soil, Worms and Composting
3. Plants on Our Plate
4. Plant Parts
5. Kinds of Roots
6. Leaves and What They Do
7. Water, Cycles, and Life
8. Air and Elements Everywhere
9. Flower and Seed Study
10. Examining Bugs and Spiders
11. The Gifts of Trees
12. Insects in Our Garden
Music Video
1. You’ve Gotta Get Out
2. The Garden Song
3. Dirt Made My Lunch
4. Six Plant Parts
5. The Water Cycle
6. Someone’s Gonna Use It after You
7. Trees
8. Green Shoes Walk


Comments: At the end of this year the kids were more confident in themselves, more expressive, more advanced academically and better citizens. This year has been one of enormous growth and opportunity in the after school program and I am glad to have been a part of it. The kids have many needs. Our program has helped meet their needs by offering opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise have had, activities to strengthen their bodies and minds, and inspiration and encouragement so their spirits may soar. I have observed great strength and determination in the youth that have participated in the program and they have inspired me!

The music video was done because they wanted to do it! The creative arts contribute to the health and development of everything. Healthy, creative, intelligent, kind, gentle, free thinking inspired youth with smiles on their faces and laughter in their hearts, and love shining through their eyes. I love it!

Freedom with self control is the rule. A prepared environment is important. I teach . . . they learn . . . they teach . . . I learn!

I “barely” suggested one day that if anyone wanted to paint an old pair of shoes green bring them the next day. I thought they weren’t that interested from the response. I told myself that if anyone responded – we would do it! The shoes started coming and we started painting. The kids took the challenge!

The video shows what some great kids can do when they are interested and engaged. The songs are a compilation of most of the music they learned this year. There were a few others. They worked out their own movements and put it together themselves. It has given them an opportunity to shine, and shine brightly for themselves and others! They will look back at this video and remember how much fun it was and what a wonderful growing experience we had together. I am still working on editing the video.

Many of the kids will be in our program again next year! We have challenges ready for them!                  Susan Dean