Maskihkiy Kistikan
Gratitude
Perimeter and Area
The Medicine Garden shouldn't be separated from your other lessons or subjects. The garden is a wonderful way to bring context and depth to material you must present to your class. While there are an unimaginable amount of ways you can tie the garden into your curriculum, here are a few ideas on how to start...
Lesson Ideas
Before we begin our garden, one of our first steps is to measure how much room we actually have for planting. Each student was assigned a garden bed, where they had to determine the perimeter and area of each bed. This is a very easy, concrete way to make these measurement activities relevant for all students.
Here are a few resources to make your perimeter and area lesson more in depth:
- Explore Learning Online Gizmo (Fido's Garden)
- Interactive Math Garden Planting Beds
- Our Growing Place - Lesson Plan on Laying out the New Garden Space
I teach students in upper elementary, who are already on their way into "Middle School Moodiness". Therefore, there are days where it can be tough for them (and for me) to find things to be thankful for! A garden is one of the best places to find beauty in the middle of a our concrete jungles.
Begin a morning with the picture book, "Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message". Have students wander around the garden and find one thing that they are thankful for, and record it in their journal using sketches, phrases, or symbols.
Don't have the book? Check out the first five minutes of this video:
Learning about Invasive Species can be a fun lesson to teach to the older kids. Who knew there were "aliens" among us? Depending on where you are located, you will have to adjust the following resources to fit what is invasive to your area, but I included some of the ones that fit best within the Canadian context, as well as some fun ones I found:
- Alien Impacts - Assess the Mess
Composting is a great way to see decomposition in action. Plus, some Indigenous peoples of North America used composting to protect their seeds and nourish the soil. I personally use vermi-composting in my classroom as they are the easiest classroom pets I have ever had! Here are some excellent resources to start your lessons on composting and decomposition:
- 8 week time lapse of Worm Bin
- Kid World Citizen's compilation of compost resources
- The Edible Schoolyard's Compost Information
- Indigenous Composting Projects
Invasive Species
Decomposition