FES Garden and Wellness Blog: Growing Valentines 2016

Such fun when 5th grade buddies help Kindergarteners!

This is the third year that Falmouth Elementary students have planted hundreds of bulbs to bloom just in time for Valentine's Day. While they grow, students nurture and observe them inside our building. Just as they are about to bloom, we reach out and deliver these heartfelt Growing Valentines to seniors in Southern Maine. Several private and civic senior communities have been designated as distribution centers. Some of these locations include, Ocean View, Falmouth By the Sea, Foreside Harbour, Sedgewood Commons, Piper Shores, and Falmouth Memorial Library. Special recognition for organizing and implementing this project goes to first grade teacher, Cathlyn Langston.

Many students throughout FES participated in this fun-filled project. Here is a summary from 5th grade teacher Amy Wheeler "We had a great time today planting valentines with our kindergarten buddies. There was lots of fantastic communicating and cooperating going on which are two huge goals of this mentor program between fifth and kindergarten. I am really excited at the questions that came up for fifth-graders about how bulbs work, What a paperwhite looks like, and how they grow without soil! We also have some misconceptions to clear up since many kids thought these were avocados we were planting. This fits perfectly into our non-fiction reading unit which introduces primary research projects to fifth grade. After vacation we will use this topic as a model before children pick their own topics to explore. Good times and a nice unplanned connection to reading!"