The Problem
Provide more opportunities for our TK students to connect to the world around them. We have some empty garden beds that need some love and our goal is to create a pollinator and edible garden.
Our Plan
Our class of 22 four year old students are planning which pollinator plants we want to grow for the monarchs and bees that visit often. We want to also plant some edible plants for children to see the growing process and develop a greater appreciation for plants and food. There will be activities planned around the themes of the garden, including plant parts, insect life cycles, observational drawings and opportunities to get dirty!
Themes Addressed
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Community
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Education
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Friendship
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Pollinators
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The Benefit
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People
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Animals
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Environment
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Here is how the project went:
Wonderful! The students (and I) learned so much about plant needs, how they grow, and pollinators.
Through this project I/we learned:
We learned how vegetables grow from flowers, and got to observe the changes that a plant goes through before it can produce food. We learned about the pollinators that were visiting our garden. We learned and got to observe the metamorphosis of a caterpillar to a butterfly. We learned through trial and error what was working in our garden and what needed to be changed.
What I/we might change:
Certain herbs and vegetables were better at growing than others in our school garden. The sweet peas were a favorite among all the students! They even helped to make a trellis with sticks for the peas to climb up. If we did this project again, I would work on having a good sprinkler system. I'm currently watering by hand, although I do find it very peaceful.
My/our favorite part of this project was:
Seeing the students excitement every morning for us to go explore the garden, check on the plant growth and see any changes. There was always something new to explore. And getting to hear the students tell others about what they had learned. For example, we had adult admin visitors and the students were able to show them around the garden and explain everything we had grown.
Some tips, tricks or fun facts about the project:
Check which plants grow well together. Plan it out beforehand. Think of which plants are good for the students to be able to see the actual plant mature, we were mindful to harvest as much as we could before the end of the school year. This means we had to plan ahead and see which seeds would be ready by the end of the school year. Sugar peas were easy to grow and the students loved eating them right off the vine!