We have an area beautifully designed for teaching students about their world through gardening, but we need gardening tools, seeds, pots, plants, mulch, and rich soil to sustain the garden project. We would also like to have a bird bath, hummingbird feeders, bird feeders, and some blue bird houses for the gardening space. We need some wooden clipboards to serve as a writing surface when we are making observations. And last but certainly not least we need some rich literature to help us learn more about plants, soil, butterflies, birds and nutrition and to develop our reading skills.
Gardening is a great way to reduce stress and anxiety by reconnecting with nature. Because many of our students experience chronic stress, learning to manage stress and anxiety is essential. Further, children of poverty seldom have a diet rich in fresh produce. Instead they are bombarded with cheap overly processed foods. The majority of our students live in apartments and would not have an opportunity to learn about gardening at home. Imagine how long lasting the gift of learning to garden would be!
A Master Gardener will assist me with instruction and help us keep the garden healthy. Together, we will develop weekly garden lessons for all of our school's third grade classrooms. The students will learn about several kinds of gardening including edibles (herbs, edibles, and fruits), a pollinator garden (for the butterflies and humming birds), and a cold hardy succulent garden. From their gardening experiences they will also learn about health and nutrition, Oklahoma birds and butterflies, and how to propagate and care for succulents. And especially for those children who love creepy crawlies, we will also teach them to worm farm. We will use the worm casting to enrich our soil.
About my class
We have an area beautifully designed for teaching students about their world through gardening, but we need gardening tools, seeds, pots, plants, mulch, and rich soil to sustain the garden project. We would also like to have a bird bath, hummingbird feeders, bird feeders, and some blue bird houses for the gardening space. We need some wooden clipboards to serve as a writing surface when we are making observations. And last but certainly not least we need some rich literature to help us learn more about plants, soil, butterflies, birds and nutrition and to develop our reading skills.
Gardening is a great way to reduce stress and anxiety by reconnecting with nature. Because many of our students experience chronic stress, learning to manage stress and anxiety is essential. Further, children of poverty seldom have a diet rich in fresh produce. Instead they are bombarded with cheap overly processed foods. The majority of our students live in apartments and would not have an opportunity to learn about gardening at home. Imagine how long lasting the gift of learning to garden would be!
A Master Gardener will assist me with instruction and help us keep the garden healthy. Together, we will develop weekly garden lessons for all of our school's third grade classrooms. The students will learn about several kinds of gardening including edibles (herbs, edibles, and fruits), a pollinator garden (for the butterflies and humming birds), and a cold hardy succulent garden. From their gardening experiences they will also learn about health and nutrition, Oklahoma birds and butterflies, and how to propagate and care for succulents. And especially for those children who love creepy crawlies, we will also teach them to worm farm. We will use the worm casting to enrich our soil.
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