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Scavenger Hunt in the Garden

Looking for a fun (and easy) summer time activity? Try a scavenger hunt!

Stimulating Imagination in the Garden

Building Fairy Houses
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 Fairy Houses (The Fairy Houses Series)

 Author: Tracy Kane

 ISBN: 978-0970910458

 

With young children, there are few lazy days of summer. Most days are filled with intense constructive projects from blanket forts to tree houses

With young children, there are few lazy days of summer. Most days are filled with intense constructive projects from blanket forts to tree houses, and from sandcastles to bean teepees. Kids love creating these special spaces.

Planting the Playground

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Looking for ways to incorporate play into your garden program? Check out the following activity ideas:

Garden Games

Creating a Letterbox

Building a Maze

Transform your school’s playground into a dynamic space that engages students’ imaginations and encourages exploration of nature—add a garden!

All too often, playgrounds are limited to large, hard structures made of metal and plastic placed in a bed of mulch. Without a doubt, kids love their playgrounds and need the physical activity they promote (just think how many kids consider recess their favorite time of the day), but by adding a touch of living green, they have the potential to offer even more benefits.

School Gardens = Natural Playgrounds

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Teachers at the K-State Center for Child Development use the produce from the garden to prepare simple dishes with their students. Here’s a recipe for Caprese Salad that is easy to make in a classroom.

Ingredients:

  • Thick slices of a Ripe Tomato (enough for each child to have at least one)
  • An equal number of slices of fresh mozzarella cheese
  • Twice as many leaves of fresh basil
  • A pinch of salt and pepper
  • Olive oil

Make sure everyone washes their hands and the work surface prior to touching the food.

Starting at the edge of a serving platter, place a slice of tomato, a basil leaf, a slice of mozzarella and another basil leaf. Continue in that pattern, forming a spiral from the outside in, until all the ingredients have been arranged. The salad should end in the center of the platter. Drizzle the salad with olive oil and sprinkle with black pepper and salt.

Upon arriving at the Center for Child Development (CCD) on the campus of Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, visitors quickly recognize the uniqueness of the facility.

Exploring Water — Four Lessons to Teach about the Importance of Water

This curriculum unit, developed by the education staff at the National Gardening Association addresses the core specific elements of the water cycle for K-12 students. There are four grade specific lesson plans, but the lessons can easily be adapted to meet the needs of any age classroom. Content in the lessons covers different aspects of the water cycle and applying the principles to activities and inquiry that can be discussed in and out of the school garden.

Disguised Learning

According to Karen Hickmott, at Myers Action Institute, disguised learning means “the students have so much fun while learning they do not realize they are strengthening their academic skills.” Through the after-school and summer garden program offered to students in kindergarten through fifth grade, this 2010 grant winning program ha

Make a Garden Art Box

The garden is full of inspiration for budding artists. You can easily transform your garden into an exciting art studio by providing a few supplies and time for creativity and observation.

Overview

Students will create a supply box to use in the garden for art projects. With the cover on, the box also provides an outdoor work surface.

Give a Garden

Objectives

Students will:

  • Reflect on and discuss ways that plants support human health and well-being
  • Give a plant or a container garden to a group or individual that can benefit from a gift of plants

Materials

Container for planting, plants, bagged soil mix, basin for moistening soil

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Last updated on 06/18/2013