Making Science Fun!

My Big Girl was lucky enough to be part of really awesome program recently. She spent a week in a Starbase classroom at a local college.

The Starbase program is a S.T.E.M. program -- science, technology, engineering and math -- that is run by the Department of Defense. She spent four full days learning in the most creative of ways and doing hands-on experiments under the guise of great, enthusiastic teachers who each had a sense of humor and kept the class engaged. I spent one day at Starbase and came away with such respect for this program.

It is how kids should be learning all the time! They kids designed crafts to carry hard boiled eggs as they traveled down a zip line and smashed into a bowling ball. They made "rockets" in an Alka Seltzer experiment. They designed space shuttles. They learned about atoms and molecules; liquids, solids and gas; what the periodic table is; and numerous other science concepts and theories. They received call names -- Big Girl was Harbor Seal, after a favorite animal -- and they wore their uniform (T-shirt) every day. They designed a necklace that looks like a piece of space craft and it was created out of plastic on a 3D printer. They worked in groups every day and didn't have daily recess beyond their lunch break, but it did not matter to these kids. It was fascinating and fun. At the end of the program, the kids received a certificate as well as took a test to see what they learned. They also took a test to see what career choices might suit their talents and interests.

These kids enjoyed the program so much that when they returned to "regular" school on Monday, it was a bit of a letdown! I know that as a mom, I would love to see more opportunities like this for our children.

If you have a fifth grader, please be sure to investigate this program and see if it is in your area. You will not be disappointed!

Beautification Day Update

An old apple tree gets a facelift around its base.

Beautification Day at Big Girl's school was last week and was a huge success. (You might remember me mentioning it in this post.) The event was a result of a child writing an opinion piece in our school newspaper about litter near the playground; I figured a "beautification day" could make the children proud of their school. When I started to scope out the project, and was given a date, I realized the scale of the project needed to be manageable. The school had this old perennial garden planted years ago by a teacher, the local garden club, and a school garden club. But it was buried under leaves and overgrown and neglected for years.

My goal became centered around this "secret" garden, and this one area of the school. I figured keeping it small, focusing on the one area and making this one spot really nice would be a good starting point. I had to keep in mind "maintenance" -- who would take care of this in the immediate future and years to come? I also had to prep the area, and one day during school spring break I packed up the kids and my parents joined me at the school and we raked out the whole area, pruned bushes and weeded a little to get it ready.

Old and new plants combined for a new, pretty garden.

There was not a lot of time to get ready for this last-minute project on our school calendar. I was a little worried that I would be able to handle it all on short notice, but everything seemed to work itself out: The district allowed us to work on it with the kids during recess times. This was a worry of mine, as the recess times are 20 minutes long, 10 minutes apart, three in a row, and we had around 100 kids sign up (there are a little more than 300 in the school). It would definitely be a rush to get everything done during that time.

I called and contacted several local businesses regarding donations of plants and mulch, and I also asked our school families to bring plants. I had a "wish list" to give guidance, and the list included mostly spring- and fall-blooming perennials to allow our students to enjoy the beauty of the garden when school is in session. Perennials also require less water than annuals during the warmer months and return each year.

A few donated plants

Three businesses offered to donate, and on the day of the event, many families brought many, many plants. We had about a dozen parents show up to help, many of whom I had never seen volunteering at PTO events or at our meeting. Each one really just jumped right in to help. A women from our local garden club, which I had also contacted, came early and dropped off dozens and dozens of garden tools and garden gloves she had been storing at her house from a now-defunct garden club at our school. She was glad to hand them back over to us! And two members of the garden club came to help as well. They were such an asset!

My parents even contributed to the project, donating several bags of mulch. I need to buy more mulch, but it won't cost more than $30 or so to finish out the project. And our PTO spent NOTHING on this project -- donations took care of everything! I had up to $100 of PTO money to spend if I needed it, but the extra mulch is all that is left to purchase. Eventually, I would love to add a bench or too, or a bird bath.

Stone edging which was buried under weeds was dug out and reset.

The kids absolutely loved and enjoyed the event as well! Many of them asked if they could work on it again the next day, or asked when they would be able to do it again. It was definitely a success in their eyes, and they were so proud of their plantings. We may not have the "reading garden" of my dreams yet, but it's a start. We hope to use this beautiful area during our "Read with a Parent" event later this month, and I think it would be a great place to set up a refreshment table for parent orientation this spring.

School beautification projects are great events for schools and students and communities. We hope to repeat this day in the fall and spring, and keep our school community pretty.



Reading Gardens

Every year when my family travels to Vermont, we eat at one of my favorite places ever: American Flatbread in Waitsfield. There are many things I love about American Flatbread, but this post will just focus on one little thing that has inspired me.

The flatbread place is actually at a farm, and outside the restaurant are campfires. One campfire has a circular wall around it where people can sit while they are waiting for a table. Just beyond that wall is this:

A simple podium, with a weather-proofed copy of Dr. Suess' The Lorax. Now, in Vermont, environmentalism reigns supreme, so the choice of including this book here, on this farm, is completely understandable. But it's also another inspiration for me: A garden that includes reading.

I am currently working on planning a Beautification Day project for Big Girl's school. I'm in a time crunch, and trying to not to spend money on the project, so I have an idea of what I can accomplish in my head. It's not grand, or large, but an improvement. And that said -- a girl can still dream... And my long term dream for the school is to have what is called a "Reading Garden."

A reading garden is really a place where a teacher can take a class outside, with places for students to sit, surrounded by the beauty of nature and the warm sunshine and fresh air, to read or learn a lesson. I've been busy pinning ideas of other schools' reading gardens. Here is one of my favorites:

Source: greenribbonschools.org via Kellie on Pinterest

I love the benches, the pergola, the patio (no mowing and trimming!) and the flowers around it. This one is located outside a school's library, which is perfect location.

Here is a simple idea of a reading garden on another school property:

Source: ecsd.k12.ca.us via Kellie on Pinterest

This one may not have the pretty red benches, but it's got room for a whole class to sit for a lesson or a meeting. Here's one with stone seats:

Source: google.com via Kellie on Pinterest

The current beautification plans at Big Girl's school are to clean up an existing, but neglected garden and expand it it, as well as pick up some litter. I'm thinking the oldest grade at the school will do some kind of "leave behind" project, like stepping stones; the younger ones will help with planting seeds and perennials which will bloom in the fall. I'm basically working with no budget, so I need to get everything going with donations.

Hopefully this will turn into an annual project, and we can landscape other areas and eventually get a reading garden established.

Do you have a reading garden at your child's school, or local library?