Instead of having a class pet, we have a class garden! And last week I got my motivation on and we cleaned out all the weeds and cultivated up the dirt in our garden. This was our school day. Learning how hard it is to grow food is a good life lesson to learn. All of the kids were so excited to get our plants into the ground and for them to start growing!!
This year our garden will have tomatoes (Roma, Big Boy and Cherry tomatoes), Peppers, crook-neck yellow squash, watermelon (especially for Carlos), Green beans and carrots. It doesn’t sound like all that much, but plants, especially squash and watermelon take up huge amounts of space when the plants are full grown, so I tried not to squeeze too many into our little space. Our carrots and green beans we planted seeds instead of plants so that will be fun to watch them come up and grow.
Actually planting the seeds was a huge hit with Jeremiah, Natalie and Ben. They each got to put them in the ground and cover over the seed with dirt. And they each asked a ton of questions. Carlos was so excited about planting his watermelon, though a little disappointed at the growing time of his plants….72 days! It must feel like an eternity. Carlos is my “instant gratification boy” so this waiting is tough, but a good lesson!!
Natalie loved mixing in the fertilizer with the hoe and then cover over the root balls of each plant with dirt. By the end of planting the garden AND the flowerbeds, she was an expert!
Some of the best learning happens outside the classroom!!
House of Smooches 