Greenhouse

Let There Be Peace on Earth

Submitted by sarahp on Fri, 11/30/2012 - 01:15

By:

Sarah Pounders

Right Side Box:

2013 Muhammad Ali Center Peace Garden Grant

NGA is proud to announce the 3rd year of the Muhammad Ali Peace Center Peace Garden Grant program sponsored by Yum! Brands Foundation. In an effort to help all schools sow the seeds of respect, the Muhammad Ali Center Peace Garden is designed to help schools teach lessons of peace and hunger awareness through garden activities. As a global initiative, the United States and all international locations are eligible for participation. Grants applications are due on January 2, 2013. Apply online.

Read about one of our 2012 grant recipients: Twelve Stones Community Garden.

Plant the seeds for world peace in your garden. The garden offers a laboratory for students to observe how all living things are interconnected and must stay in balance to thrive. Here are a few peace related themes you can introduce through garden programs:

Know Your Food

Submitted by cynthiad on Mon, 08/13/2012 - 16:05

By:

Cynthia Domenghini, NGA Staff

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The 2012 Food Day School Curriculum was designed for educators as a Food Day resource that can be used in the classroom or to increase your own knowledge about what it means to Eat Real: Download the 2012 Food Day School Curriculum

Many times gardening is promoted as a way to teach youth where their food comes from. This phrase, “know where your food comes from,” is one that has received much attention and rightfully so.

Developing Character in the Garden

Submitted by cynthiad on Sat, 05/12/2012 - 07:39

Anti-Bullying Strategies

By:

Cynthia Domenghini, NGA Staff

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Creating a No-Bully Zone

Although the 2011-2012 school year is coming to an end, this is a great time to start planning an anti-bullying unit for the start of the 2012-2013 school year. Here is an activity to guide you and your students through the process of designing your own anti-bullying contract.

Download the Bullying Prevention Activity (PDF) »

Young gardeners contributing to the larger effort of beautifying the school.Within a garden live many individual plants. Each of these plants alone can be beautiful and unique, but as a whole, alongside all the other plants, they are so much more.

Creating Your Own Children’s Garden

Submitted by cynthiad on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 11:23

By:

Cynthia Domenghini, NGA Staff

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Are you looking for an indoor activity for the garden? Download these simple instructions to create signs for indoor and outdoor gardens.

Here is a geography lesson for grades 3-5 to introduce the topics of longitude and latitude as they relate to botanical gardens. Download Where in the World???

Think back to your childhood. Can you remember any interactions with plants or a garden that made an impression on you? I can remember the first time I learned about snapdragons. I was at my grandmother’s house and my mom showed me how you can pinch the sides of the bloom to cause the flower to open and close, which looked like a dragon mouth. I was in awe that a plant could do this. Another time I “discovered” the softness of lamb’s ear. The amazement that a plant’s leaves could feel so soft was a memory that remains with me today.

Changing the World, One Garden at a Time

Submitted by sarahp on Thu, 03/28/2013 - 00:34

By:

Sarah Pounders

When PS 41 in Greenwich Village, New York was chosen to receive one of the National Gardening Association’s Adopt a School Garden grants sponsored by Organic Valley, parent volunteer Vicki Sando could not have imagined that their container garden that’s maintained by the Kindergarten class, would turn into a nearly

The Healing Power of Plants

Submitted by sarahp on Sat, 12/29/2012 - 00:27

By:

Sarah Pounders

From natural disasters to acts of senseless violence, this fall we were reminded that despite our best efforts, the children in our lives cannot be completely shielded from pain and loss. Even if evil events do not unfold directly in our own lives, in our digital society, we share experiences in very personal ways via mass media and the Internet.

Growing Food

Submitted by sarahp on Mon, 12/03/2012 - 01:10

By:

Sarah Pounders

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Download a sample lesson plan, "The Producers," from Growing Food

Ask your students to tell you where our food comes from. Do they respond with a restaurant or a grocery store name? Do they suggest it is made in a factory? What about on a farm? Do any of your students hint about our food supply's connection to nature and our environment?

Plant it Forward

Submitted by sarahp on Fri, 11/30/2012 - 00:18

By:

Sarah Pounders

Youth gardens offer many opportunities for gardeners to give back to their community. Drawing from the concept of “Pay It Forward,” by which a person who has received a gift repays it by giving a gift to another instead of the original donor, encourage your young gardeners this year to “Plant It Forward.” Here are a few ideas to consider:

Plant a Thankful Gardener

Submitted by sarahp on Sun, 10/28/2012 - 21:56

By:

Sarah Pounders

Right Side Box:

Download this month's lesson plans:

Pressed Flower Thank-you Notes

Tree ID

Thanking volunteers and sponsors is an important activity for all youth garden programs. Although appreciation for contributions should be shown year round, Thanksgiving, a holiday rooted in the celebration of harvest, is a great time to present your loyal supporters with a special gift to acknowledge their generous donations of time, talents and funds.

School Gardens = Natural Playgrounds

Submitted by cynthiad on Mon, 08/13/2012 - 15:07

By:

Cynthia Domenghini, NGA Staff

Right Side Box:

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.