School Gardens

The Reason for Gardens at Schools.

There are so many reasons that every school should have a garden, but perhaps the most important is that it takes learning outside and makes it absolutely meaningful.  Today the Garden Teacher at our school had an excellent lesson of searching through leaf litter for critters/ bugs!  The children loved it.  They loved lifting up leaves and searching for what had been hidden from their eye.  Then they used their observation skills to make scientific drawings.  

The classroom was abuzz with excitement as the kids went about uncovering hidden creatures, sharing their finds with one another, asking questions and trying to identify what it was they had discovered.  Then they drew their pictures for the classroom display.  It was joyful learning.

I taught life science units many years, however no terrarium or aquarium seems to compare to what we find outside in healthy garden beds or a healthy forest.  Time and time again I have led kids to just peek at what is undercover and they are amazed.  Some kids identify with the pill bug, others like the snails,worms,  the centipedes or millipedes, but whatever it is they are excited!

I am so thankful for our school garden and garden teacher.