Heartwood Trees and the Five Senses

owls touch the heart of the tree!

      Garden Time

The Owls (3) and Kittens (4) learned about the center of trees, called heartwood, and how just like the center of our bodies, the heartwood of a tree helps it stand up straight and tall. It turns out that the tree we counted rings on was the same age as most of us!

We talked about how the five senses can be used when we are outside in the garden. After having practiced a song about 'everybody's bodies' everyone was able to share how we can use our eyes to look at the trees, our hands to feel and dig in the dirt, and our tongues to taste worms (just kidding!)

Lumbricus Terrestris in the Classroom

Reading "diary of a worm" after our visitors went home

Garden Time 

Animals! After discussing the creatures we do and do not want in our garden, we learned about the animals that we sometimes don't even know are there, like earthworms. The class had several organisms of the species Lumbricus Terrestris, (try saying it five times fast) come visit us and we learned that Lumbricus refers to an worm's slimy coat and Terrestris means it lives in the ground.

After tentatively touching our slimy friends, we brought them home to the garden. When handling the worms we thought about being careful and considerate, especially when you are in charge of keeping something or someone else safe.

What is the Giving Garden?

Learning about cold frames

The Garden Road School community garden space, known as ‘The Giving Garden’ is a project that will incorporate outdoor learning, community development and food education. Not only will food be grown for a CSA, (Community Supported Agriculture) but local community members will also have the opportunity to rent a raised bed for the growing season and be part of a community garden. In this program plant care responsibilities such as watering and weeding will be shared by the group and participants will have access to group gardening tools and advice from someone experienced in different farming techniques and practices. As the growing season approaches, after-school programs for community kids of different ages will begin, and this summer ‘The Giving Garden’ will be a part of the Garden Road summer camp program.  During the school year students at The Garden Road will be cultivating their own plots of land! Every Friday during ‘garden time’ students of different grades will learn about the various aspects of farming, food and the natural world. This will encompass learning about the organisms present on a farm, the way seasons affect plants, and the actual techniques involved in growing food from the earth. Incorporating gardening, community and education will hopefully be one of many steps towards an integrated and healthy learning process for children and adults alike.