Garden Planning - a Perfect Example of Project Based Learning

We continue our important work in planning a rain garden for our school. This strikes me as an example of a perfect project for younger children, as it is place-based, hands-on, and has a real-life application. We will make our school be even more nature-friendly than it is now, by helping the drain water become clean before it heads to the Huron River!

Catie came back to our school this morning to talk more with the children about native plants, how to plan a garden for a specific purpose, and to assist them with the garden planning/grids. This morning we practiced listening skills, reading skills, and math concepts - as well as science learning about plants and the interconnectedness between plants, insects, and animals.

We started by Catie sharing a comic drawn specifically for this educational purpose, done by local artist/guru David Zinn.











We then took our seats to research various native flowers and plants - how much space each plant needed, if they attracted bees or butterflies, their height and color, and so on. With this information, each student designed their own garden, using a grid where each square represented a foot of space. They each had to have a color-coded key with their grid, as well as figuring out total number of plants and estimated price. It was an involved assignment, but the children really rose to the challenge (as they always do).

Catie will return in May to help us dig in the dirt and make our plans become reality.