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Posted by Susan Hyde Mar 10, 2007 |
My recent gardening and composting articles in Curricula/Lessons literally grew out of my children's curiosity. My two boys, tired of our Maine snow after a week-long cold snap during which there was no outdoor play, implored me to teach them more about plants. While the professional teacher in me is a stickler about following our Singapore Math, Story of the World (Susan Bauer) history, and regular reading and writing curriculum (a combination of sources from Scholastic to Sam's Club), I usually encourage exploration in science. To me, the freedom and time to explore and enjoy learning are definite benefits of homeschooling.
As is usually the case with our thematic units, we began with a trip to our fantastic local library where we found books on plants. While Robby, my 4 1/2 year old emerging reader, was thrilled with titles like Eric Carle's The Tiny Seed and Lois Ehlert's Planting a Rainbow, my seven year old son was happy with an Eyewitness Plants encyclopedia and a fictional Andrew Lost In the Garden chapter book (JC Greenburg, RL: Ages 7-10). Both boys were likewise thrilled when I found Joanna Cole’s The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds.
On the way home we stopped at our local Superstore where the newly placed seed displays called to us mightily as we were shopping. Knowing that most herbs germinate and grow quickly, we picked out seed packets of basil, cilantro, parsley, and oregano. My older son, who is our family mathematician and scientist, noticed immediately that all four packets together cost us a mere $1.00. This was a fantastic opportunity to point out the potential financial rewards of hard work and patience. For another $13.00 we purchased four colorful 5" glazed terra cotta pots, two 10" terra cotta pots, and a small bag of high quality potting soil. Then, remembering how my grandmother used to grow sweet potatoes in the window of her kitchen, for a few cents more cents more I purchased a sweet potato. I also remembered the sprouting sweet onion bulb sitting in the bottom drawer of my fridge, and I suddenly realized that we would have a fantastic elementary level botany lesson for under $15.00.
Now, two weeks later, we have four little pots of herbs growing in the southern window of our family room. We likewise have a sweet potato and a sweet onion growing in each of the two larger pots. Before they have even wiped the sleep out of their eyes each morning, my boys run to the window to see what the growing seeds, tuber, and bulb have become. After breakfast, the boys enthusiastically bridge science with writing and art (pictures from Robby and writing from Aaron) in gardening journals.
Assuming that the boys don't over-water or otherwise abuse our plants, we should have more fun planting our herbs and vegetables outside during the summer. Better yet, we have sown the seeds for a summer of fabulous nutrition and cooking lessons.