As you can see, we had to start with a garden overhaul, weeding our plots. During the process, the students found 4 caterpillars which we have adopted as classroom pets. (the perfect classroom pets!) They have almost doubled in size and we are excited to watch them experience metamorphosis.... which happens to be one of the 4th grade science benchmarks! Oh, how I love teachable moments!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Garden of Learning
I think this might be my favorite part of Montessori's philosophy: letting children learn through experiences like gardening or caring for an animal. At Odyssey, each classroom has 4 plots in the school's garden to prepare, plant, and take care of. I have enjoyed learning about composting and topsoils from the school's experienced gardener (and veteran) during the past 2 weeks. At lunch, students recycle fruit and veggie scraps into a compost pile which is typically spread underneath the topsoil of the classroom gardens. The funniest part about all of this is that there are cantaloupes sprouting everywhere on the school grounds! Apparently without much prep, you can successfully grow a cantaloupe plant by composting your seeds in the soil! I was also taught, that by placing cardboard scraps around plants, you will stunt the growth of weeds. Maybe I'll have the gift of a green thumb for my own personal garden in the next few years after my daily experiences here at Odyssey. :-)
Labels:
gardening
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