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Indoor Gardening

Submitted by sarahp on Sat, 12/29/2012 - 01:04
in
By: 
Sarah Pounders and NGA Staff
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Download sample lesson plans from GrowLab®: Activities for Growing Minds

Make Room for Raddy (pdf)

Plantenstein (pdf)

Does the weather have you stuck inside your classroom? Invite the outdoors in… plant an indoor garden!

Most classrooms garden during the fall and spring, but by incorporating plant activities indoors you can reap the benefits of garden programs year round. Using grow lights or sunny windowsills, your class can experiment with growing a wide range of plants, from houseplants and blooming bulbs to edible crops like radishes and lettuce.

Please Pass the Pumpkin Seeds

Submitted by sarahp on Sun, 09/30/2012 - 17:30
in
By: 
Sarah Pounders

It’s pumpkin time again! Although it is the eye catching, orange fruit of the pumpkin plant that receives the honor of being the hallowed symbol of season, the seeds deserve some glory too. Think twice before you toss those pumpkin guts this year. Pumpkin seeds are tasty little packages full of vitamins and minerals offering numerous health benefits.

Know Your Food

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

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.

Sharing the Love: Spreading Seeds

Submitted by RoseJM on Mon, 06/11/2012 - 00:00
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By: 
Rose Judd-Murray, NGA Staff
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How-To: Make A Seed Bomb

Materials:

  • Clay (purchase at craft stores)
  • Compost or potting soil
  • Seeds (we recommend easy-to-grow or native varieties)

Bring this activity home, or share it in the classroom with these easy step-by-step directions (PDF). »

Follow these step-by-step instructions to make your own seed bombs.

Taking a walk together as a family is a great way to teach your kids about varieties of flowers, shrubs, and trees. It's an unstressful time to engage and allow them to ask questions about their own local environment.

Developing Character in the Garden

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

A principal's insight on how school gardens can eliminate bullying.    

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.

Compost Happens

Submitted by cynthiad on Mon, 02/13/2012 - 16:38
in
By: 
Jean Persely for NGA with Cynthia Domenghini, NGA Staff
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Jean shares some of her ideas to get kids interested in composting:

  • Ask students what happens to blue jeans and t-shirts in the landfills? Can they be composted?
  • Ask for an old cotton t-shirt and/or an old pair of jeans to be donated. Place them at the bottom of the compost pile, or use a smaller piece for a worm bin. Do the students realize they are wearing plants? How long will it take to break down? Have students make guesses as to what will happen to these old clothes.
  • Do you have multiple working compost bins at school? Have a t-shirt composting race with another class. Which class will have a faster compost pile? What causes one compost bin to decompose materials faster than the other? Was one pile being turned more than the other? Take the temperature inside the pile. Is one pile hotter than the other?
  • Consider doing an experiment with a piece of a t-shirt in one pile and a plastic bottle in another. Let the students predict what will happen.

As the wife of an active duty Marine, Jean Persely has made the most of her frequent moves by teaching others to “bloom where they are planted.” Jean has committed to making a positive impact on any community she joins. It was in 2005, that Jean developed a vision to impact a school community by planning the introduction of a garden.

Growing Food

Submitted by sarahp on Mon, 12/03/2012 - 01:10
in
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
in
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
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By: 
Sarah Pounders
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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.

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