We have over 90 great gardeners in our gardening club; however, all 310 students can participate during school hours in gardening if their teacher chooses. Another teacher and I started up our school garden club last year: L. Green Thumbs. We meet up to two times a week to learn about gardening, composting, conservation, cooking with our produce, etc.
We keep their attention by varying our activities by using both indoor and outdoor classrooms.
Our small southern Indiana school is a school-wide Title I facility in which funds are limited. Our school is made of kindergarteners through fifth graders. We have two special education classes and fifteen regular education classes. Our community has a 40% obesity rate, and we're working hard to change that, starting with our students! Therefore, we are teaching our students how and why to grow their own food.
My Project
Who said gardening is not a sport? Gardening is totally a sport! My students have been busy turning our school's backyard into an Outdoor Student-Centered Learning Environment. My students now need an electric power screwdriver and bits for assembling additional raised garden beds, benches, a ramp for their garden shed, and a sturdy base for their rain barrel. They also have a few raised garden beds to fix that have come apart over the winter. Using the electric power screwdriver and bits, with the help of adult volunteers, will also help my students to learn important skills in the areas of STEM, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
Our Outdoor Student-Centered Learning Environment is blossoming daily for my students.
They are full of energy and ready to make this area a huge success. My K-5 students in our after-school gardening club are adding things to the Outdoor Student-Centered Learning Environment so students at school can use them for learning and enjoying nature. The Lincoln Green Thumbs, the after-school garden club students, are using it to grow food from seed to harvest. Cooking classes have also been added in addition to the gardening. Thank you for reading about their need for continuing the Outdoor Student-Centered Learning Environment.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Hooten and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
