Virtual Science Tips for Back to School

It is easy to go down a rabbit hole of anxiety, which I feel often. It is easy to be upset about the comments we read about educators, however what we can control is how we present ourselves to our students and do our absolute best to stay positive for them and for our own mental stability. No matter what, that is all we can control at times. 

I want to prepare and get ready for the next year, even though I still have no clue how long I will have to teach each class, what platforms I have to work within, and if we will even be teaching live, so what can I do to get ready? As a science teacher, I now have to figure out how to teach science virtually. I need to learn from any mistakes from last year, and move forward into a productive, positive road to the 2020-2021 school year. 

On today's playlist in the School Yard:

1.  Tips to teaching science virtually

2.  Focus Questions

3. Check list of ideas to get started

Let's get focused in Science For Virtual Learning or A/B Hub!

This year, I need to find ways for my science supplies to go home or be in individual bags for easy transporting in case I wind up on a cart when we go back. My biggest obstacle is the amount of bags and supplies I need to get in order in my three bonus days I am receiving in order to get ready. Supplies will be bagged and lessons will be given all set to go for the first five weeks. I also created virtual scavenger hunts for students at home that allow for discussion of key science concepts along with the ability to get up and move. If you are interested in seeing what I mean, check it out here!

Focus Questions: 

Some of my friends are already in school, so I thought I should start to focus on the questions that need to be answered before I start the new year. What will you focus on as you plan to head back? Here are my focus questions that I am working on to have set in place before we start the new year. ( I have three days of bonus pay days they are giving us, so I need to be set by Thursday)...

Check list to get started:

Need a checklist to help you consider what you need to get yourself ready for the 2020-21 school year? Here is a checklist that I made for our science team that is meeting this week. We need to consider thinking outside the box, focusing on the why and finding ways to support each other! 

 Check out a free checklist for back to school! 

Thanks for joining me in the School Yard! Science can be child's play even in a pandemic!

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Back To School Activities For Your Science and STEM Class...In or Out of School

This summer has me thinking a lot about what next year might look like, and I am sure that some of my teacher friends out there are thinking the same thing. I guess you might say I am trying to piece it all together. I am headed back to my school this year, which makes me a bit nervous with the great unknown and trying to find ways to connect to new students and new requirements for learning. With a little creativity and resourcefulness, activities and lessons that you have used in your toolkit each year, can be reworked to utilize whether we are at school working individually or distance learning once again.

                                         

For some of us piecing things together, maybe changing schools...changing grade levels...starting off a new year is never easy. Let's just add COVID and the great unknown. I believe that the most important thing you can do right away is create fun engaging hands on opportunities for our students. This will certainly allow you to gauge right away which of your students are leaders and in what way, which students are more shy and reserved and which ones might struggle with challenges and activities as we try to get them to learn the skills we need to be resilient in a time of uncertainty!

Here are some great go to's for you to utilize in the first two weeks of school...before we get started let's discuss supplies and distribution, which will need to look different. 

What to do about supplies?

Now, you might be asking, what if the kids are in school and they can't share supplies? My goal is to create trays or even paper bags with supplies in or on the day before and set them in a grade level large tub. Once finished with the supplies, I would collect by walking around with the tub and having them drop it into the big bucket. When cleaning I will wear gloves and follow the state/district protocol for washing. This method of dropping the supplies into a bucket you walk around with assures no contact. :( 

Here is my plan for supply distribution:

In school: students will be given a tray of supplies such as straws, cardboard, toilet paper tubes, card stock. They will create something out of the supplies given. If they need supplies: a plastic tray will be used to bring an individual what they need, they get the item from the bucket/tray/tub. Once they are finished, go around with a large bucket to collect. Students drop their used items in the bucket, with no contact. Then we sanitize the the bucket/tray/tub when time allows. This allows us to use items quicker than the 48 hours of set aside time.  

At home: items are sent home with the group that is virtual on the day they are in school in a brown paper bag (this is recyclable and cheaper than plastic). When home, they create the assigned task/challenge and then share in your class meet or in flipgrid in video form for assessment.  Most items will be allowed to stay home and to be kept, however items that need to be returned, will be brought back to school and when students arrive back, a tub will be set out for drop off in their classrooms or when they come back to science. I will then place it off to the side for 48 hours, clean and reuse the materials or place them back in my FOSS kits. 

Here are my back to school go to's that can be done one on one in class or at home:

1. Saving Sam (in a group or even alone...)

I am sure you might have seen Saving Sam. The little gummy worm that needs help from drowning. It is a great team building activity that I use for my fourth graders. There are some great free resources on TPT for that activity. 

However, this year I am using my Saving Sam extensions so that I can build on the one activity and pose another. What if we can't save Sam together or our students are at home doing virtual learning?  Let's save Sam with our families...or let's save Sam on our own. This can be done by creating an aluminum foil boat, zip line, or a sun protector out of recyclables or blocks that can be collected and washed. Give a paper Sam to them even though the gummy worm is tasty and fun...We choose from Boat Regatta, Mountain Retreat and Sun Protector. We call them Sam's Extended Adventures! You can find it here.  

2.  School Rules STEM (one that can be done alone)

 This is a great way for our kiddos to review school rules, either in school or at home virtually. You might have seen your students unsure of how to follow Google or Zoom Meets correctly and so you probably had to create some new rules. As we find ways to problem solve some of the issues that came up (mine were: they didn't show up each week, they didn't do quality work at times, they didn't do an activity or show their work, they sent an email sharing they didn't get it then you send them a how to video and they still don't do it. Now, our district is looking at a Group A/B model where group A comes in while B is virtual for four days then flip flops with B. We will need to review those rules as we move forward. Why not have students work on a STEM model representing the rules that we have in place as we move forward. 

Ideas that might look different this year: 

• walking in the halls
• mask wearing
• social distancing
• bathroom use
• washing hands
• playing outside
• lining up
• going to specialists
• eating lunch
• outdoor rules
• touching our faces

3. Playground Creations (another STEM challenge that can be alone at school or at home)

If you are like me, you might not be seeing your students allowed to play on the playground equipment come fall...why not have your students find a creative solution/invention for no contact playground fun! Games, activities, and events may need a little modification, what a perfect opportunity to not only teach what modifications and contraints are, they surely know now what that means, they can relate. We can also do a great job with this by teaching positive growth mindset. We all want things to go back to "normal", but that isn't realistic at the moment. So, how can we all push through, be positive, and solve problems? 

Lesson kick start: 

1. Have students review why it is important to stay healthy. What does that have to look like and why.

2. What rules are in place that are different than last year?

3. How can we find new ways to have fun while social distancing?

4. Generate possible game and playground ideas. Hula Hoops? Sidewalk chalk areas? Walking paths? Juggling? Painted games on the black top (in line with six feet lines to follow)...can students then create a STEM project that helps students remember the new school rules?

4. Cup stacking challenge (when life may be somewhat normal again)

This has always been a favorite go to...when life allows us to be working closer together....Using 6 Dixie cups, one rubber band, and a piece of string for everyone in the group is a perfect way to have your students as a group to problem solve and work as a team. I use this activity with my fifth graders to address how our science labs and stations work as a group. They must formulate a list as a class first, so we can discuss what is essential for our labs to be successful. Some of our BIG take aways are typically: we must work together, we must communicate in a positive  manner, we must do our part, we must listen respectfully to everyone. I focus on our school's core values as well and what that must look like.

Need resources for Science and STEM? Check out these helpful back to school packs:

STEM Back to School Challenges

STEM All Year Packs

Digital Science Graphic Organizers

STEM Pizza Themed Back To School Pack

5. A challenge for you...Find something that helps you get ready for fall...

Not sure yet how to even navigate for next year? We all need to give ourselves a little boost! Join me for one last idea for fall helping the Whole Teacher as we navigate our way together! My friends and I invite you to join us for the Whole Teacher EclecticCon. This virtual conference of 50+ sessions includes 30 hours of training starting July 27th. Click here to learn more. Join us Carol from Teachers are Terrific, Renee from Science School Yard, Meredith from Momgineer, Sarah from Science and STEM Team, and Natasha from Vivify as we present along with over 50 presenters as we share more tips and tricks that are puzzling all of us! We are better together!

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The Power of Using Boom Decks In Science

Digital Resources such as Boom provide students easy access for learning science concepts. If you are in search of an app or digital option for self-checking task cards Boom Learning decks are self-checking, interactive, digital task cards. Going virtual this year has upped my game in terms of finding ways to assess my virtual lessons and which students comprehend the new concepts. There were several tools and apps that I found very capable of helping my students and me be excited for the next lesson! Boom did not fail me. Once I figured out how to create them and post them for my kiddos, I got Boom Fever!

Here's How They Work: 

Boom Cards are also compatible with Google Classroom and Google Apps, so, if you use those platforms, this is a resource for added science learning. A set of Boom Cards is called a Boom Deck. Boom Cards may contain fill in the Blank Answers, multiple choice, move-able pieces, clickable answer choices and more.

Creating student logins is quick and easy! In your dashboard, you’ll click "Add Many Students," and enter nicknames for each student. Boom Learning will automatically generate passwords, but you can create personalized passwords too! {Often times, students already have a login and password for another account—like Google Apps/Google Classroom so you can just use the same ones!} With older students, you can share the classroom username and password and let them set up their own account details.

How My Students Can Play:

Boom Decks can be played in two ways: Fast Play: With your free account, you have unlimited access to playing any purchased or free Boom Cards through an interactive whiteboard, tablet, or other device. In Fast Play, you are unable to record student progress (however, Boom Learning regularly offers free trials of the student data component for new users, so be sure to check the latest info on that!) With a free account, you can create 5 students (think, 5 groups with differentiated assignments assigned to each. This works well in stations where you can have students access the activities they need to practice).

Once you access a Boom Deck, it is in your "library". You will always have free access to assign and play your Boom Decks in "Fast Play" mode. In Fast Play mode, student data is not recorded, but students receive instant feedback. Fast Play mode is perfect for modeling on an interactive whiteboard, and playing whole group, in partners, or small groups. Fast Pins expire after 5 days. These are for practice or instruction only and don’t record student progress. To assign on any site with a Fast Pin, go to your Library, find the Boom Cards deck to be assign, click the blue Action button and select Fast Pin. 

The second way to use Boom Decks is by sending Hyperplay Links or assigning decks to Students. You can send Boom Cards to individual students or groups of students. Hyperplay is available with the Basic, Power, and Ultimate Accounts. When I want to gather data I will then use Hyperplay Links which prompt students to sign in and they result in student progress being recorded. To assign on any site with a Hyperplay Link, go to Library, find the Boom Cards deck to assign, click the blue Action button and select Hyperplay Link.

                                                                   

What Can Students Use: 

BOOM Learning is app available for Apple products, Chrome Books/android devices, and Kindle. Boom Learning can also work within Google Classroom. I tend to use a fast play for practice which my students on their ipads and hyperplay when I need to assess progress. 

How Can I use Boom Cards?

*with a group on an interactive whiteboard.
* beginning and end of the year assessment tools
* allow fast finishers computer time and practice time
*use them as part of your science stations/centers
* assign specific decks to students, so they can master specific content or review a concept that they might be struggling with 
* as homework assignments for students. Students have a login of their own, so they can login to Boom Learning from any computer or device anywhere, but they will need internet access. 

Can I see how it works?

I've included a link for you to practice any of the first four pages of any of my resources. Give it a try!

Boom Learning Science Decks

TPT Science Decks

Give Boom Decks a try...I am so glad that I did. My students love the "game" like feel of review and assessment!

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Germs, Bacteria, and Virus Science

Wow! What a week. I have to say that I typically don't research germs and viruses, but I can't stop watching the news or reading an article about the Coronavirus. This last week, a long term substitute who went to Italy for a few days, stepped into our school to help the newly hired teacher get ready for her new job before she arrived this next week. Needless to say, our school was heavily disinfected and it now has impacted us right in our classrooms and in our community. Thank goodness she didn't have contact with any children or adults! 

I wasn't going to address the virus in my class, but it has become so much a part of our school conversation Friday, so as the science teacher who works with each student in my school, it was time for me to make sure that we had lessons that could help our students with the understanding of what germs are and how to stay germ free. So, this weekend, I spent a ton of time organizing a new germ unit that I started right off the bat on Monday! 

We have been using Mystery Doug for the germs video. It is pretty good and I am using it for grades K-5th grade with supplemental activities and sheets included in the link below.

Extension Activities and Ideas...

K-1 Activity: Glitter Germs

1. Get a small bottle of hand sanitizer (good luck if you don't have any now, stores are getting sold out fast...). Fill the hand sanitizer with glitter. I use bigger pieces of glitter and not the small stuff. It is easier to wash off.
2. Describe how the glitter represents germs. We need to wash away the germs by washing our hands. 

We wash our hands with water first, then with soap and water. I line them up at the bathroom and practice as we wait for someone to finish

    K-5 Cinnamon Test:

1. I practice hand washing with the cinnamon test and petroleum jelly, too. This one isn't as messy. I ask for 3-4 volunteers, then on their hand they shake with I rub petroleum jelly on it. I sprinkle the hand with cinnamon which represents germs. 
2. We then shake and give high fives seeing how easy the germs spread. 
3. We then wash our hands for 20 seconds!

I have used this song to inspire them...

K-5 Activity: Black Pepper Activity

1.  Discuss the importance of washing hands
2. Get a flat tray and fill it almost full with water
3. Sprinkle black pepper on the surface of the water (enough so that the surface is filled with pepper)
4. Describe how the pepper represents germs and why it is important to use soap and water to wash our hands
5. Demonstrate by adding a couple of drops of dish soap to the surface and have students observe ( I use a dropper)
6. The germs will immediately cling to the side of the bowl to get away from the soap
7. Remind them of the importance of washing their hands (demonstrate hand washing techniques as well as the 20 second reminder of how long it should be! I say two ABC's, the chorus to Frozen, or two Happy Birthday's!)

I am sharing my germ science freebie for the 2020 school year as more and more schools go to elearning. Help your students learn how germs spread, and how to stay healthy with my Germ Science Resource for you found here. 

Stay healthy and safe! Please feel free to share your ideas below if you have any ideas to add to our germ free lessons! Literally, as I was writing this post, we got a call letting us know we are going virtual tomorrow. No time to train our kids or even give them their bags of supplies...wish me luck!

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Landforms In Science

A discussion came up in one of our second grade classrooms this week in regards to the 65 degree temperature that occurred in Antarctica this last week. When the second graders arrived I was ready and waiting to start a new mini-unit that can help my students understand some new vocabulary words along with hands-on activities that can allow them to make the connections they need to start to figure out the why's of the importance in learning about our Earth.

Landforms are one of those topics that at first our second graders and beyond struggle with. Given names to land and water so that we can decipher their similarities and differences. The best part is that at first they might say a park or road is a landform, or even name a landform around where they live, however as they get to see pictures of other habitats or biomes they start to add new vocabulary to their ever growing list.

To help you incorporate landforms into your science/social studies lessons, here are 5 quick activities that I was able to incorporate this week in science in my one hour with my second graders!

Idea 1:
Second graders don't know landform words...I used EPIC Books Landforms by William B. Rice which has some great examples and ways to teach what a landform is.


Idea 2:
We then generate a list of words that we heard so far as well as words that describe what land and water words we use around us. We created an anchor chart that can support our new words.

Idea 3: 
We use a landform game that allows for students to get a review of the word landform and what it means. I love using qr codes for the students to access in a game format where they can at their own pace find answers in a scavenger hunt format, write the room format, or even just around the table time.

Idea 4: 
After we review what we found on our QR code activity, we follow up with a quick review from SciShow Kids. These videos are short and packed with a ton of great information, pictures, and vocabulary to support adding to what they already know.

Idea 5:
Now it is time to review again with landform cards that have the picture and words on them. We then set out cubes that they can build the feature that is on the card. We then travel the globe (classroom) to see the different landforms that are found on the Earth's surface.

These ideas help me reinforce the 5 E's of Science...

Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate

Engage them by asking what they know...explore what it means with our book, Explain with our QR codes, Elaborate by creating a 3-D model STEM creation, and I like to finish up by turning over our qr code record sheet and draw me three new words they learned followed by a drawing of each!

These ideas, sheets, cards, and lessons can be found in my landform pack. Find the landform pack here!

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FOSS and Science Stations

For the 28 years I have been teaching our district has used FOSS as our science program. I am using these kits as I teach my kindergarten through fifth grade students. We have build a pretty solid road map that helps us determine what lesson we are teaching per week to each class. As our district adopted the WI science standards which are almost identical to NGSS, we had to create our new road maps to make sure that each of the standards were covered. That meant that we had to look at consolidating lessons, working them into stations, as well as cutting the FOSS lessons that do not meet our new standards.

We wanted to also make sure that we were adding engineering as well as find ways to study vocabulary, assess our knowledge, and gather grades when we only see our kiddos once a week, for an hour! That means we have to be really creative with our time and we had to learn how to make every lesson and moment count! (Not to mention that we are also needing to help our school math goal in science...I will be sharing in my next post how I am attempting to do just that).

I want to share with you a few strategies that we came up with as we kept the FOSS kits, learned to consolidate and create stations, and found creative ways to work in assessment and vocabulary.

Learning To Consolidate:
As we looked at the time we have with each of our students, looked at the fact that we needed to find ways to show their progress, as well as assess them, we had to find a way to create lessons that were meaty and created a way for our students to retain information.

I focused this year on the 5E model of writing my science lessons!

Using my FOSS lessons, I find a way to engage in what we are going to learn that day. I give them part of the experiment as an introduction or way to explore what we are going to be learning or I give them a way to start to investigate the "experiment" that goes along with the FOSS kit. When students are done with their investigations, some tables are done earlier than others, one method to adding other layers to each lesson is to find ways to have students explain their thinking, use a record sheet to write down what they learned and any observations that they made.

Variables and Castle Storming Station

One way that I use FOSS as an extension is to have students finish an experiment and then take it up a notch. We learned about variables for an example then we made castles to show what we learned!

Elaboration can be done at their tables or even as stations around the room! I love when my learners can get up and move around, get up and be responsible for their ongoing learning, and continue to focus on not only explaining, but elaborating! This might mean a quick STEM challenge, an extension of the experiment, qr code vocabulary games, digital review lessons that I made for each FOSS unit, or a quick game such as task cards or review!

Human Body Leg and Kick Ball Station

If students can get done early, I also add ways for them to continue their learning through games as well! We have to create something at times that can be used to create a fun competition or interactive game to utilize what we are learning at the time! We had to make legs in fourth grade Human Body, why not use what we made to see how our leg muscles react when we kick!

One huge incentive to get done is the ability to elaborate! I also can take the opportunity to help the groups that might need my time, a reteach, or even a way to evaluate their learning!

Setting Up Stations!

Creating stations while using a science kit like FOSS can be a bit time consuming at first, however once you create stations, they can be used over and over again! Check out my FOSS extensions on TPT if you want to find resources to elaborate!

Station Ideas:
1. vocabulary review
2. experiment sheets
3. assessment
4. ticket out the door
5. digital recordings and picture explanations
6. STEM connections
7. extension sheets
8. math connections
9. Book creator or adobe spark
10. digital activities and review
11. task cards
12. reading connections
13. writing connections
14. maker space
15. meeting with small groups

Stations can be used after your initial introduction lesson. They can also be used to consolidate smaller activities and experiments as well. Finding ways to add stations can help you find ways to meet with groups to check for understanding as well as guide them if they are struggling.

Assessment and Vocabulary Review Stations

A great way to add a quick review is to use games that incorporate vocabulary and questions that we have been asked during an experiment or that they will see on an assessment.

I love using qr codes for a quick review and assessment. QR codes are great because they can check what they know after trying to answer the questions first. They can also have a partner and see who can answer the question first. You can have them answer the questions then use the qr code to review what they know.

I also think ticket out the door is important as a quick way to check for understanding. I use digital sheets that they can place in our Itslearning site (like Google Classroom) or they can air drop their screen shot of their sheet for me to see where they are at. I also check it at the door if we are needing a quick check and go! Here is the resource that I created and use with my 2nd-5th graders!

Use FOSS in your classroom? Please share any ideas and strategies that you use for extensions, elaborations, and evaluations. We can all use some great ideas!

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Measuring Up In Science With Hands On Stations

At the beginning of each school year I like to make sure that my students are ready for using science tools by creating and sharing Science Center's geared around measurement. 

Not only does that help them understand how to measure, but it also will help them get ready for each of our FOSS kits that require them to measure with a variety of tools! For my older students,  I focus on the tools that will allow them to measure capacity such as syringes, measuring cups, and graduated cylinders. We focus on helping them measure length, width, and height with a ruler, tape measure, and meter stick.  Finally, we focus on mass or weight using a scale and a balance. Measuring the weight of something can be as easy as using cubes or as complicated as using grams. With my younger scientists, I focus on learning how to use a hand lens properly, how a balance balances and how can we fill capacity tools to a given line. Depending on the grade, the more I use a variety of tools that get them working hands-on.

We also focus on the universal way to measure things in science which is the metric system. That means working with centimeters ... grams... and milliliters! If you need to focus on Customary Standard Unit, do what is necessary for you. I use the metric system in our science room in all of my classes kindergarten through 5th grade. 

 What I love most about starting our school year off with measurement stations in science is that I can have my kindergarten through 5th graders be able to do Hands-On activities!  To get them started on the right track when we start our experiments is critical to saving valuable time especially when it is hard enough to fit science into a busy school day for my dear teacher friends. 

I want to share with you  ways to  to be able to set up stations so that you too can add measurement into your science lesson time making science child's play! 

Themed Stations Are the Way to Go!

It doesn't matter if it's kindergarten through fifth-grade you can set out tools and station cards and then go from station to station with guiding them on how to use the tools then you can release them to be able to try using those tools on their own. 

Finding a theme in measurement is a great way to get them excited about doing something that  isn't always easy for them. We don't spend a ton of time on measurement so this is another way to tie science and math together. From Measurement Olympics to I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell which I use...creating themes allows those kiddos to be able to be excited as they learn the tools along the way. 

I have them show me what they know. With the stations in place it also allows me to walk around the room and help students that are having a difficult time. While others are busy, I can reteach and support struggling students. 

So grab those hand lenses... those balances and scales...a handful of rulers and even those syringes as well as timers and you are set to go. If you want to save time setting them up, grab these Science Measurement Review Packs! 

Find these Packs {HERE}

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Garden Weeds Otherwise Known As Problems In Your Garden

Planting a garden hasn't been all rainbows and unicorns! There are a lot of problems that can come up when you plant a school garden with kids. Today, I can't wait to share with you some common problems we faced in our school garden and some solutions to get you on the right track!

Problem 1: Take for example when seeds do not germinate! That is the worst thing when kids are waiting for their little seeds to have a little sprout growing from it and it never happens...you have to figure out what to do and my suggestion is to teach a lesson in germination. You can also create an anchor chart prior to planting that helps them understand what seeds need to grow. 

Quick Tip: If you plant seeds without a name on the container or baggie, then the kiddos own all of the seeds that grow or don't grow. We then go to the garden with partners to plant what grew as a group. It seems to eliminate any issues when seeds don't grow (especially their's!)

Another thing you can do then is to discuss why a seed did not germinate. I do that before we even grow a plant as a type of check off list we can refer back to which helps us go back to that anchor chart to predict and make judgments. It really helps your learners understand what might have occurred. 

Problem 2: Another problem that can exist is planting in the garden and then having it die on you. That is an awful feeling when an entire crop isn't productive or the sun was too hot and burned your plants, or even over the weekend they weren't wet enough and dried up...I have to say that all of the above has happened to me at one time or another over the last five years. I can also add a hungry squirrel who ate all of our squash...pumpkins...sunflowers... I can also add to that by saying one year the only flowers we had on our pumpkins were males....I had to teach a bit about the birds and the bees...

Quick Tip: Once again take the opportunity to have a teachable moment such as teaching the life cycle or what plants need to survive. Head back to an anchor chart that you create with your students! It really is a great way to reference!

Here are some other fine examples of why our plants died...I have been know to  put them underneath a grow light and you leave them for over a weekend and you  forget to water them....

or you  forget to turn off the lights because when you come back...you have fried your plants...


Problem 3: Shall we talk about weeds!

Weeds....weeds...and more weeds!!!! There are always weeds to contend with! 

Who is going to pick them? When are you going to pick them?  Who is going to be out in that garden with the kids talking about how weeds are not going to do well for your garden plants because they eat up all of the nutrients in the soil? What are you going to do with the weeds once you pick them? Compost? Leave them lay? Put them in bins for someone to haul away? All things to think about...

Quick Tips: There are great lesson, but when kids pick the plants instead of the weeds there is another problem within a problem. Pick the weed you want them to get for you. I then have them focus on just that weed. You can give each group a different weed to pull, but remember to help them by teaching them leaf structure. You will always have someone pick the wrong thing, but that is a lesson in itself!

Problem 4: All your plants are growing who is going to watch them who is going to pick the vegetables?

Without a team trying to figure out how to harvest those vegetables and maintain watering them and all of the other things that come along with growing a school garden can get overwhelming!

Quick Tips:  Establish your team that will help you water, weed, and harvest. Here are some great options that we have tried:

1. Remind 101 is set up for parents that sign up before school is done to come in and weed, water, and pick. The reward is to take vegetables home. I remind them what to take home and what to let grow.

2. Teach a summer garden class. Each Monday, six weeks out of the summer I teach a garden class. I teach STEM and science lessons and then we weed, plant, and harvest. This helps teach students what the process of growing a garden is all about from start to finish. 

3. Have Americorp help you or other agencies looking to volunteer and help. They are always looking for volunteer hours and I have had great success with volunteers. Check your local garden clubs, Master Gardeners, and University Agriculture classes, too!

One more quick tip that I always get asked...What do you do with all of the vegetables you harvest?

1. We do ding dong ditch with a special garden note on it so when we go to neighborhood homes they know where the veggies came from.

2. I go to our local food pantry, donate, and then take a picture of them receiving it...we want to teach paying it forward.

3. I know where some of my poorest families live as well as our low income housing apartments and I actually like the ice cream truck open my trunk of my car and give out bags of vegetables! They know my car by now and come running! I had to figure out how to divy out the vegetables because they actually remember from week to week who got the "cabbage" or "zucchini".

4. I harvest and bag and I leave them at the front of the school with a sign, please take one! I also go to our local pool that is right behind the school and find families to give food away to!

5. We also plant a ton of vegetables that will be harvested for our school lunchroom. So whether it is our egg roll garden or our coleslaw garden, the cabbages and carrots will wait until our kids get back. Our popcorn garden and pumpkin patch can wait until fall! We replant our peas and pick our beans all season as well as lettuce and kale! 

Are considering a school garden?  I want you to know that planting a seed does really help kids grow, but you also have to take into consideration all of the other components that make a school garden successful. When you have those all in place before you even start putting a seed in the ground you can find out that a seed is truly magical. 

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