Post on 28-Jul-2015
Connecting Garden
Activities To The
Curriculum presented by Renee Heinrich
K- 5 Science Teacher Wausau School District
What we plant…
• Over 15 different herbs • Fruit • A kinder”garden” of pumpkins • A Peter Rabbit Garden • A three sisters garden • First graders grow our flowers from seed for the insects • contests and geological digs • school lunch program
• We grow…lettuce, spinach, kale, kohlrabi, Swiss chard, peppers, cabbage, carrots, asparagus, cucumbers, zucchini, squash, corn, eggplant is a bust…tomatoes, peas, beans, rhubarb, beets, brussel sprouts are going in this next year (they died)…
How we do it… And what we are up to… • planting indoors and outdoors after spring break • microgreens in winter • vermicomposting in winter • High School Help • Parent Nights • Grade level seeds • Videos • Harvest of the Month • Growing for our lunchroom • grant writing • Partnering with Public Health Department • Partnering with local farmers • Thomas Jefferson Garden Club • Encore! • Sharing What We Know to get Others Growing! • Instagram, blogging, and newsletters… • http://scienceschoolyard.blogspot.com/ • http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Science-School-Yard
Where to Start…What to do? • What is your curriculum for science? The Wausau School District uses FOSS… and incorporates NGSS concepts and STEAM • So how can you incorporate a garden within the curriculum? Take the “big ideas” and work off of them! Whether its bugs…plants…water…or even simple machines…it can all work!
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Science-School-Yard
How to Start… • Start with a size that is comfortable to you • Only do what you can handle • Make sure to get your principal and janitor on board before you start • Publicize it in newsletters, blog, emails… • Get the kids excited…if they are it will work • Plan ahead, read up on gardening, ask for help from outside agencies and businesses • Be creative with grants and free money • Think about spring planting, and summer harvesting, who gets the veggies, and who will pick and when • Think about what lessons are the most important to teach…find others that have already done the grunt work…don’t reinvent the wheel!