Friday, October 18, 2013

AFTER SCHOOL GARDEN CLUB, WEEKS 1-3

Garden Committee staff members are sponsoring an After School Garden Club through Community Programs this fall. All proceeds from the Club go directly into the Garden Budget. This fall the funds purchased 450 daffodils which have been planted by students all around FES and the straw to put our garden to bed.

The pictures below show the first 3 weeks of the club. On week 1 we worked in the garden to prepare for the Open House and created a temporary garden sign. Week 2 brought us to Idleknot Farm, where Elwin and Jean Hansen gave us a tour of the farm and a tractor ride out to the pumpkin patch. The third week we determined the daffodil planting areas, toured the FHS garden and created seed mosaics on a beautiful fall afternoon. The pictures below highlight the fun.


Working hard/ week 1


Starting the garden sign/week 1
Friends at Idleknot Farm/ week 2
Pumpkin lessons/ week 2
Pumpkin gardeners/ week 2
Garden Art/ Week 3
Seed Mosaics/ Week 3
Creating garden mosaics/ week 3

Our Garden Theme


Check our Blog frequently for fun Garden updates.

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Integrating the Fall Garden into the School Curriculum

The fall garden is providing teachers and students with unique outdoor educational opportunities.  Kindergarten classes released monarch butterflies in the garden where the children learned firsthand about plants and flowers that promote the life cycle of butterflies. Students in other grades are harvesting vegetables, bringing them to our school cafeteria and learning about the benefits of LOCAL foods. Many teachers are using the Sensory Bed to teach the 5 senses to individual students and whole classes. The pictures below tell the story of how we are integrating the Fall Garden into the school curriculum.

3rd Graders in Michelle Brown's class

Carrots from the 2nd grade Salad Garden

Martha Poliquin and the PTO/ Chard Tasting in the School Cafeteria 



2nd Graders and Julie Clay with their carrot harvest




Happy students bringing carrots to Kitchen Manager Kim Walker





Releasing the monarch butterfly


Kate Bacon with first graders watering the garden
Hanging in the Garden 

Kindergarteners studying butterfly habitats
  Garden Open House, Sep. 28, 2013
WCSH Garden Open House 

On Saturday, Sep. 28 we participated in the Maine School Garden Association Open House. Students led community members on garden tours. Watch the video WCSH Garden Open House 
to see how we Grow and Learn in the FES Garden.