all ages

Food Plant Life Stories

Submitted by admin on Thu, 05/28/2009 - 08:42

Exploring Colorful Histories

By:

Eve Pranis, for NGA

Are you aware that Pilgrims considered tomatoes an abomination on a par with dancing, card playing, and theater going? Did you know fried peas were sold to spectators in lieu of popcorn in ancient Roman theaters? How many of you knew that the humble potato helped fuel the Industrial Revolution?

Rice Dreams

Submitted by admin on Thu, 05/28/2009 - 08:42

"A reading unit on China prompted my second graders to ask whether we could try growing rice," reports Norfolk, MA, teacher Simone Favaloro. "We successfully germinated some rice seed in big pots, then set them in trays of water in the GrowLab, but noticed that growth slowed once the grass was about 5 inches," she adds.

Creating a Habitat: Laying the Groundwork

Submitted by admin on Thu, 05/28/2009 - 08:42

A creature's habitat is a place where individuals of that species or type can usually be found. It contains all the components the organism needs to survive.

At the most basic level, all wildlife require food, water, shelter from predators and the elements, and safe places to raise their young. Consider asking your students to brainstorm and create a list of things humans need to survive. Then try creating a list for other animals and one for plants. How do the lists compare?

NGA Wins Book Award

Submitted by admin on Thu, 05/28/2009 - 08:26

National Gardening Association has been publishing kids gardening curriculum and activity books for more than 25 years. These books are very popular with teachers and parents and one of our most recent books has just won an award. Nourishing Choices (NGA, 2009), by Eve Pranis, offers teachers, educators, parents, and health professionals a road map to successful implementation of food education and awareness programs with kids. It profiles winning schools and youth programs across the country that excite kids about healthy eating.

Creating a Cultural Connection

Submitted by admin on Thu, 05/28/2009 - 08:26

The school's name, Grandview U'uqinak'uuh Community School, reflects the region's rich cultural heritage. Now, the "Spirit of Nature" schoolyard proudly does the same. Graduate education student Illene Pevec and landscape architecture student Tracy Penner brought together students, parents, teachers, and community members to turn an underused, muddy, 1-acre field into a multigenerational, award-winning garden that celebrates and preserves local cultural history.

Learning Takes Flight

Submitted by admin on Thu, 05/28/2009 - 08:26

"Too often children are asked to save the whales, the rainforest, the Earth," says habitat educator Judith Levicoff from the Philadelphia area. "Although they're all important issues, they are overwhelming concepts to a child. Children live in the moment and need immediate results for their efforts. Butterfly gardens are a way that kids of all ages can think globally and act locally."

Digging Deeper with Nutrition

Submitted by admin on Thu, 05/28/2009 - 08:26

Your students' inquiring minds will provide the fertile ground for nutrition-related investigations and activities. Here are a few ideas to prompt your thinking.

Butterfly Gardening

Welcoming butterflies and caterpillars to your school garden

By:

Eve Pranis, for NGA

Growing plants that attract butterflies is a sure-fire way of engaging children in the school garden, and it invites discoveries about pollination, insect life cycles, and the interdependence of insects and plants. The first step is understanding the different stages the butterfly life cycle.

Empowering Flowering

Submitted by admin on Thu, 05/28/2009 - 08:26

"In preparation for a life cycle unit, I took my second graders to a local farmer's market with the intent of finding seeds on the way and hidden in the produce we brought back," reports Marilyn VanDerWerff from Fremont, MI. Back in the classroom, Marilyn's students counted, sketched, compared, and wrote about the treasures they'd discovered.

Cultivating Inquirers

Submitted by admin on Thu, 05/28/2009 - 08:26

By:

Eve Pranis, for NGA

Watching pollination first hand is bound to draw inquiry out of your school gardeners."There's no question that teachers and students are equally fascinated when they have ample time to observe and investigate flowers and their pollinating partners," reports Lisa Wagner, education coordinator at the South Carolina Botanical Garden.