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Welcome 5
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0-1: A Welcome Note from Victoria 30 minLecture1.1
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0-2: Good Things to Know 30 minLecture1.2
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0-3: Why Literacy Outdoors? 30 minLecture1.3
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0-4: Ideas to Kick Start Your Literacy Garden 30 minLecture1.4
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0-5: Supply List for Reading, Writing, Listening, and Talking Outdoors 30 minLecture1.5
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Module 1: Gardens that Feed 5
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1-1: Welcome to The Gardens that Feed 30 minLecture2.1
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1-2: Gather Seeds of Inspiration 30 minLecture2.2
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1-3: Plant Literacy Ideas 30 minLecture2.3
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1-4: Grow Literacy Activities 30 minLecture2.4
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1-5: Harvest Curriculum-on-the-Go Kits 30 minLecture2.5
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Module 2: Gardens Inspired by Themes 5
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2-1: Welcome to The Gardens Inspired by Themes 30 minLecture3.1
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2-2: Gather Seeds of Inspiration 30 minLecture3.2
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2-3: Plant Literacy Ideas 30 minLecture3.3
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2-4: Grow Literacy Activities 30 minLecture3.4
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2-5: Harvest Literacy Curriculum Kits 30 minLecture3.5
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Module 3: Gardens that Attract Wildlife 5
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3-1: Welcome The Gardens that Attract Wildlife 30 minLecture4.1
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3-2: Gather Seeds of Inspiration 30 minLecture4.2
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3-3: Plant Literacy Ideas 30 minLecture4.3
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3-4: Grow Literacy Activities 30 minLecture4.4
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3-5: Harvest Literacy Curriculum Kits 30 minLecture4.5
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Module 4: Gardens for Beauty and Art 5
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4-1: Welcome to The Gardens for Beauty and Art 30 minLecture5.1
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4-2: Gather Seeds of Inspiration 30 minLecture5.2
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4-3: Plant Ideas 30 minLecture5.3
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4-4: Grow Activities 30 minLecture5.4
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4-5: Harvest Curriculum Kits 30 minLecture5.5
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16 Comments
Last year I started lettuce seeds with the children under lights. We then transplanted half to an outside bed, and then made some guesses about which group would do better, the lettuces with real sun and rain, or artificial light and watering. We then cut all the indoor and outdoor plants, washed and ate them. Some parents wee astonished to hear that their children ate a lettuce! We watched to see if they would grow back, and they did. The kids made observation pictures of the plants. All in all, it was successful and a nice step beyond the bean in the cup.
I love this example. It also shows the impact on kids when they grow their own food. I call this magic! There is a magic to teaching outdoors!
We have 54 acres that are not at all set up for the public. There is a nice road that goes through it but we have to limit access because we can’t really let the public walk through the food production areas. We do have lots of food plants we sell for veg garderns. I will think about signs there, for starters.
Super!
Hello, friends… I am hustling to catch up here! Already a week behind (crazy at work AND at home recently!) but looking forward to viewing all the new material. Our (Head Start) program has tried creating gardens several times at my site. We had a very large vegetable garden one year that was very successful. The teacher who started the process stuck with it from start to finish; sadly, the following year, she did not wish to continue with it herself, and no one else was interested or willing to put in the work, even though I prepped the entire garden and put in the plants. By late July it was a dying mess… My classroom is open and I only work from September to June, although many more classrooms here are open year-round. Another year, some volunteers from a local company came and put in a couple of raised beds as well as a planting bench in one of our playgrounds, and again, it was moderately successful that first year, but has been dormant ever since. I am wondering if the main problem here is that so many of our teaching staff are inner-city kids, born and bred, and feel no connection to the whole idea of gardening…
At any rate, the most I’ve done in several years is planting and germinating seeds in the classroom, and then sending the sprouts home with the kids. Last year, I invited the parents to participate at a Family Engagement event where they were given the choice of herbs or flowers for planting. Nearly every one chose the herbs! It sometimes feels kind of discouraging in terms of having any success in keeping a garden going at school. We need to somehow spark enthusiasm amongst the majority of the staff first, I think.
I think this problem of keeping school gardens, particularly food gardens, going all summer is very common. I find it very discouraging as well. I met a woman at the Common Ground Fair who shared with me that her school (somewhere outside Boston) has parents sign up for watering and weeding duties for one week each summer, and they have turned a patch of asphalt into a raised bed “pizza garden” in the city with lots of involvement. Good Luck!
These types of gardens can be challenging with programs that do not run during the summer months. If done correctly, they can also be a fabulous project to bring a community together.
We have a garden that feeds but have found success in also making it a theme garden within that (3 sisters (beans/squash/corn), salsa, pizza etc.)
Something we wrestle with is the value of exploration (rolling veggies down ramps, sink and float experiments, measuring, smashing up to see what’s inside, using veggies as props in storytelling and dramatic play) versus honoring food as food and keeping things as edible as possible being handled by a class of preschoolers. Absolutely not mutually exclusive, but…
Thrilled that you have a Garden the Feeds and it sounds like it is very mature and you have been soaking up the curriculum opportunities. Fabulous. I love that you brought up the value of exploration vs. the honoring food as a food and keeping things as edible as possible. I want to turn this question back out the group (will also post on the Facebook page) and see if other teachers struggle with the same issue. Welcome!
Our Preschool currently does not have a garden. I have grown herbs in a prior school that had more green at our disposal. Our current challenges will be designing a space that does not interfere with the gross motor needs of the children and will not be subject to destruction. My initial idea is to have raised boxes with some fencing, but I just need clearance and again, we are working with limited space. The playground does receive lots of sun, which is a bonus.
Thanks for describing your outdoor space. This always helps me get a sense of what teachers are working with. Have you tried container gardens with herbs? This is a fun solution when you have limited space. You can have the option of moving them around when children need more room for gross motor play. Yea for sun!!
We have gardens that feed. We plant tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, vining beans, lettuce, cabbage and herbs.
Yea!!! The kids must love this! Do you plant seeds indoors? Have you ever planted Peas?
We have planted peas. The Toddlers and squirrels always beat us to the harvest.
We do start seeds indoors.
🙂