Now that winter is upon us, you may be thinking that there aren’t many plant activities that your students can participate in. However, there are lots of fun ideas to get students thinking about gardens, even when there’s snow on the ground.
Watch seeds sprout! Line a glass or plastic jar with a damp paper towel and insert several zucchini or lima bean seeds between the glass and the towel. Place a lid on the jar, leave it by a sunny spot and check the towel every day to make sure it’s still moist. Seeds should sprout in a few days.
Make your very own worm farm! Line a large cardboard box with a garbage bag. Fill it with soil, organic matter and a few warms. Keep it shady and moist, but not too wet. Add vegetable scraps to feed the worms. The worm farm will help teach students about the interdependence of plants and organisms as they watch the worms turn vegetable scraps into valuable compost.
Read a book! Telling a story about gardening to students during winter will get them excited for the growing (and eating) process later in the year.
Start a microfarm! You can grow microgreens (immature plants) for a tasty salad indoors all year long. The entire gardening process only takes about 3-4 weeks. For more information on building a microfarm, visit the Got Dirt? website at http://www.gotdirtwisconsin.org/.
Showing posts with label book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book. Show all posts
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Book: A Garden for Groundhog
Happy Groundhog Day!
The groundhog may have seen his shadow today and predicted six more weeks of winter, but reading the book A Garden for a Groundhog will get you and your students longing for spring.
The School Library Journal says it is "A delightful book especially right for reading around Groundhogs Day. During the winter, the O'Learys feast on the bounty from their summer garden, and Groundhog hibernates in his burrow home beneath the apple tree. The O'Learys know that the groundhog does not come forth on February 2 to forecast the weather but rather to check if the O'Leary garden is planted. Mr. O'Leary's plan to keep the groundhog out of their vegetables has one flaw, though, which is humorously revealed on the final page. Full-color illustrations in soft hues add to the aura of warmth and gentleness which permeate the story. A delight to read and share."
And a fun fact for Got Dirt? gardeners: the author, Lorna Balian, was born in Milwaukee and still resides in Wisconsin.
Happy reading!
The groundhog may have seen his shadow today and predicted six more weeks of winter, but reading the book A Garden for a Groundhog will get you and your students longing for spring.
The School Library Journal says it is "A delightful book especially right for reading around Groundhogs Day. During the winter, the O'Learys feast on the bounty from their summer garden, and Groundhog hibernates in his burrow home beneath the apple tree. The O'Learys know that the groundhog does not come forth on February 2 to forecast the weather but rather to check if the O'Leary garden is planted. Mr. O'Leary's plan to keep the groundhog out of their vegetables has one flaw, though, which is humorously revealed on the final page. Full-color illustrations in soft hues add to the aura of warmth and gentleness which permeate the story. A delight to read and share."
And a fun fact for Got Dirt? gardeners: the author, Lorna Balian, was born in Milwaukee and still resides in Wisconsin.
Happy reading!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Resource: Children's Books about Food
The blog Obama Foodorama follows current efforts in food and agriculture policy in Washington.
A recent post, of interest to teachers, is entitled "'Where the Wild Things Are' Joins Another Foodcentric Children's Book on the Official Obama Reading List"
In the post, the blogger highlights children's books that reference food. It includes descriptions of
A recent post, of interest to teachers, is entitled "'Where the Wild Things Are' Joins Another Foodcentric Children's Book on the Official Obama Reading List"
In the post, the blogger highlights children's books that reference food. It includes descriptions of
- Duck for President
- The Curious Garden
- If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
- Six-Dinner Sid
- Stone Soup
- Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
- The Lorax
- The Giving Tree
- I'm Gonna Like Me
Each of these stories offers important lessons about food, farming, gardening, etc. and would be a great resource or story to read to your class.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Activity: Stone Soup
A classic childhood fable is the story of Stone Soup. (A version of the story can be found here and your local library should also have a copy of the book).
In the story, a weary traveler makes stone soup. He simply puts a stone in a pot of boiling water and with the generosity of others, he creates a tasty meal.
This story provides the perfect opportunity to teach children about the value of sharing and teamwork.
A variety of activities can be used in conjunction with this story.
In the story, a weary traveler makes stone soup. He simply puts a stone in a pot of boiling water and with the generosity of others, he creates a tasty meal.
This story provides the perfect opportunity to teach children about the value of sharing and teamwork.
A variety of activities can be used in conjunction with this story.
- Have students identify the vegetables mentioned in the story
- Make your own stone soup with vegetables from your garden. (Here is one soup recipe, but any vegetable soup recipe will work just as well). Have students pick fresh vegetables from the garden, having each child contribute one to the soup
- If your school does not have a garden, ask students to bring in food from home to be added to the soup
- Explain that stone soup can only be made with everyone's help. In the same way, a school garden can only succeed when everyone contributes their own special talents by caring for the garden
Enjoy your Stone Soup! Just don't forget to remove the stone before you start eating!
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