scavenger hunt!

To start off the year, we sent our garden club members on a scavenger hunt.  The gardens hadn't been touched much over the summer, so there were lots of things to find and explore.

Our colorful rain barrel is full of water!  Now we just need to hook it up to a hose.

Sra. Melara had some handy bug catchers that we could use to observe those squash bugs a little closer.

The sunflowers are full of seeds, and they are always fun to pick out.

Find something beautiful?  Check!

The weeds were taking over the walking path, but the kids were undaunted.

The okra did amazing over the summer.  Some of them had dried and you could hear the seeds shaking inside the pods just like a baby rattle.

That's a lot of squash bugs!

Group shot at the beginning of the year!  It will be fun to watch them and our garden grow.

Scavenger hunts are always a great outdoor activity.  Here are some links to some already prepared lists to hunt for:

Nature Scavenger Hunt

Hunt with Things to Find and Things to Do

Ready? Set. Go!

bird feeders

Fall is the perfect time to start thinking about feeding the birds.  If we get in the habit now, they'll know where to come when the snowy weather sets in.

These bird feeders are made from orange halves, sunflower seeds, twine, and skewers to poke the holes in the oranges.  The kids had fun scooping and eating the oranges, but poking the holes and tying the knots was a little difficult for the younger students.

If you want, you can even make this bird feeder out of a pumpkin!  It's best to add some little notches so the twine won't slip around the pumpkin.

Find a sturdy branch, tie it up, and wait to see which birds love these seeds the most.

raised beds

In 2013, we decided to use cinderblocks to raise the garden beds.  This works well with small children to help them understand where to step, and it gave them a little place to sit as they dug and planted in the beds.  Our simple wire fence has done well over the years to keep the rabbits and deer from enjoying our garden too much.

One of the most amazing parts of any garden is simply....the gate.  An incredible world lies just behind it.  It is easy to imagine the excitement building in the little children as they enter through the gate and begin to investigate the creatures and plant world living within the garden.

And what child doesn't love watering a garden?  This year, we may try using yogurt containers with tiny holes poked through the bottom and a bucket of water filled near the beds to use for dunking the tubs.  The children will be able to water without squirting one another and without the risk of drowning delicate seeds.

our first year's garden

Every school imagines having a learning garden full of eager children discovering hidden vegetables, watching butterflies flit from flower to flower, and identifying amazing edible roots, stems and leaves of plants.  The possibilities are endless:   outdoor classrooms; science, art, math, and language lessons;  free time to dig, plant, water, and discover the miracle of the natural environment.  And even a small garden can do all of this for a school.

These were the planting beds in early spring for our first ever Kindergarten garden in 2012.

An enthusiastic farmer helped till and prepare the soil.  He said it was so fertile, the kids would be able to sit and watch things grow before their eyes.

We prepared kits for each class to grow vegetables and herbs from seed to later be planted in the garden.  Spring break always hits us right around this time, so the plants languished a bit as we all took a break from school, but once they were planted, they took off.

We had an amazing crop of tomatoes, basil, and squash that first year....the beans not so much, but even a failed crop is a learning experience.