6/1/2015
Happy New Year! This week in garden club we looked at the basic parts of a plant-roots, stem, leaves, flowers and seeds. I brought in some salad components and students noted which part of the vegetable or fruit they were. Then, they got to eat them! There was one student who had never had broccoli before!

Students, in an earlier class helped to provide input for our school garden club logo. I had a friend take elements from their work and this is what he came up with it! The students love it!

9/12-12/16

These past few weeks we have been working on planning our spring garden. Students have been thinking long and hard about exactly what it is they would like to see growing in their school garden.
We received a seed saving tool kit from Seed Savers Exchange so we have been very excited looking through all of the wonderful heirloom varieties. Students are beginning to understand that a successful garden takes lots of planning. So far we are looking forward to a "Hunger Games" themed bed! Stay tuned!

Students had a chance to look through seed packets and diplomatically decide which plants they would like to see in the garden (there are many big ideas!).                                   

 

We read a book called Compost Stew. It gives us some great ideas about what can and can't go on the compost heap. This will serve us well when we begin composting in the Spring.

 

Finally we watched two videos. The first was about reducing our waste and recycling so that we are more responsible with our resources.

http://youtu.be/65AMXyzEhd8

The other link reminds us that little things can also have big impacts. Have you ever forgotten your reusable bags at home when you're at the grocery store? This video offers some useful reminders so that you won't forget!

http://youtu.be/7vMNWz4B2wQ

12/2/14
This week in garden club, we used mostly old materials (pasta/bell jars, old toys and figures) and made snowglobes, but because it was giving Tuesday, there was a catch-students had to give them away!

To make a homemade snowglobe

1.Glue a toy to the lid (we used a hot glue gun)

2. Fill the jar with water

3. Add a drop of glycerin (optional)

4. Add glitter

5. Screw the lid on and shake!

 

We also began discussing plants, flowers and vegetables we would like to see in our school garden next Spring.

 

 

11/18-Turtle time!

This week in garden club students made pets to take home. Most of the supplies were lying around my house- potting soil, green plastic cups, googly eyes, glue, tempura washable paint and paper plates. I had some "chicks" that needed good homes, but you could also use broccoli seeds or any other that don't require a lot of space. After we made our pets, we built a little island for them. Students found this project to be a lot of fun! Names ranged from "Turbo" to "Sir Snaps-a-Lot" :)

                    

11/11/2014
There was no garden club this week, but in the coming months we will be working on ideas for fundraising, various crafts and composting. ISU Master Gardeners have kindly offered to provide us with a compost bin :)

11/5/14

This week in garden club, we started by reading the book "If you hold a seed," by Elly Mackay. It is a wonderfully illustrated book with a simple and honest message- take a seed, make a wish, plant that seed and wait. Then one day your wish may just come true. This book is tailored for slightly younger readers, but our 4th and 5th graders still benefited.

 

 

We played a garden game and had a brainstorming session about what we should include in the logo for our gardening t-shirts.

 

 

 

Riley had the great idea of coloring her thumb green to highlight what great gardeners Kenwood Elementary students are. It didn't take long until the whole class caught on!

 

10/28/14

This week we started with a little game called "Fruity". We set up garden categories (fruit/vegetable, animal/insect etc) then thought of a letter and students had to fill in the categories as quickly as possible and the first one done shouts "Fruity". Students really enjoyed the game and it and forced them to think hard for a little while :) Then we went to the garden and pulled out more plants and cleared away some leaves. We left some kale that was still producing so that we can add it to our compost pile.

I also found a great book for students aged 4-8. "Some Bugs" by Angela Diterlizzi and Brendan Wenzel is a humorous rhyming story about the different types of common bugs. The beautiful illustrations and simple language makes it a great read for this age range! Students will be excited to get out into their backyard and go exploring!