What Children Learn in the Garden

Gross Motor 

• Hauling dirt, compost, mulch
• Digging 
• Moving plants 
• Weeding
• Picking produce 

Health Knowledge

• Good/not-so-good foods 
• Need for exercise 
• Clean air 
• Clean environment 
• Clean hands & bodies
• Bacteria in the environment 

Nutrition 

• Nutritional value of different foods 
• Which foods are good for what parts of your body

Here's what I came up with in about 10 minutes last night. 

LIFE

Environmental Stewardship: 

• We need to keep our water and soils clean
• Some plants may not be around if we don't collect and plant their seeds
• We need the insects 
• We have to be careful with chemicals so that bugs, plants and people won't be hurt
• How to keep animals out of the garden without hurting them
• The natural world is important to protect

Farming/Gardening Skills:

• How to germinate seeds
• How to plant, weed, cultivate, amend soil, crop rotation, etc.
• How to collect and store seeds
• Companion planting
• Pest control
• Different plant needs

Self Reliance:

• Ability to provide food and natural products for yourself and others

SCIENCE

Biology

• Life cycle of plants, animals and insects
• What lives in the soil
• Decomposition
• Biomes

Botany

• Plant physiology
• Common and scientific plant names
• Pollination
• Plant classifications

Environmental Science

• Composting
• Reduce, reuse, recycle
• Environmental awareness

Entemology

• Insect identification
• Insect anatomy
• Pests vs helpers
• Bug/insect classifications

Meterology

• Weather
• Weather patterns
• Cloud formations
• Temperature, rainfall and wind assessments

Scientific Method

• Predicting - What will happen if we give this one extra water?
• Discussing - Why do you think that is? What if we give it too MUCH water?
• Experimenting 
• Discussing results
• Comparison to other experiments - Did the water make more of a difference or less of a difference than adding compost?

Math

• Comparison of size, shape, color, height, weight, growth, etc.
• Classification of plants, insects, animals, seeds, produce, etc.
• Counting seeds, plants, rows, produce, rainfall amounts, etc.
• Economics of how much we save by growing our own food and why - shipping, labor, etc.
• Estimation of how much items weigh, how much water they need, how much rainfall we had, etc.
• Equations - If we have 4 blueberry plants on this side, and 4 blueberry plants on that side, how many do we have in all? If we have 4 rows of 4 bush beans, how many do we have in all?
• Graphing of temperature, rainfall, plant growth, weekly circumfrence growth of  a pumpkin, etc.
• Measurement of rainfall, shadows, height, weight, circumference, pounds of produce, etc.
• Geometry - shapes in the garden, building boxes, paths, etc. 
• Statistics - Did we get more or less beans than peas? Was it a LOT more, or a little more? If they took up the same amount of space, which one is the better producer? Which one should we plant more of next year? - YES, the one we LIKE THE MOST!
• Time - tracking the sun across the garden, seasons, planning, plant growth, cycles
• Tracking growth, production, chores

PHYSICAL

Fine Motor  

• Planting seeds and plants 
• Weeding 
• Picking produce 
• Collecting seed 
• Picking up bugs

Observation 

• Awareness of even the smallest element in the environment

Sensory 

• Seeing butterflies, bees, colors, shadows, sunbeams, changing shapes
• Feeling the wind, the many plant textures, soil vs. clay
• Hearing the birds, insects, leaves rustling in the wind, mulch crunching with each step
• Tasting the many flavors of herbs and produce
• Smelling the herbs, soil, flowers, produce

LANGUAGE ARTS

Narration

• Talking about their observations, ideas, experiments
• Educating and advising the younger children
• Discussing and negotiating about chores and responsibilities
• Asking questions, explaining to others

Reading

• Plant markers
• Seed packets
• Graphs, charts, instructions

Vocabulary

• Plant names & parts
• Insect names & parts
• Gardening terminology
• Discussion vocabulary

Writing

• In the dirt with sticks
• Drawing pictures of plants, insects, animals, ideas
• Plotting out the garden
• Observations, graphs, notations

SOCIAL

Negotiation

• What to plant
• Where to plant
• What to harvest for lunch
• What to do with what we harvest
• Who gets to do what when

Patience

• Waiting for seeds to germinate
• Waiting for plants to grow
• Waiting for produce to mature
• Waiting for our turn

Responsibility

• The garden must be watered
• The weeds must be pulled
• The produce must be collected
• The seeds must be collected

Team Work

• Working with others to plant, harvest and care for the garden

Work Ethic

• Doing your job, even if it isn't the job you wanted
• Working with your group, even if you would rather go play
• Handling your responsibilities with a good attitude

ART

Crafts

• Crafts for the garden - stepping stones, signs, totems, sculpture
• Crafts from materials collected from the garden
• Painting and drawing about the garden

Colors

• Names of colors
• Comparisons of colors
• Color changes

Light

• Observation of light vs. shadow
• Color changes in various lights
• Reflections
• Rainbows
• Light on different textures

Movement

• Wiggling of a worm
• Nodding of a sunflower head
• Wind bending a tree
• Falling apples
• Floating of a butterfly
• Dancing through the garden

Above all they learn...

APPRECIATION FOR NATURE

of which, they are a part.

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