A Day in the Garden

A class in the garden is structured to provide students with the order and discipline of routine and the excitement, exploration, and reflection of discovery. 

During 90-minute classes, students are involved in all aspects of working in the garden. They prepare beds, plant seeds and seedlings, tend crops, harvest produce, turn compost, and make note of their observations, efforts, and tastings. Hands-on participation in the cycle of food production teaches the relationship between all natural systems and builds appreciation for nourishment, community, and stewardship of the land.  

Classroom teachers accompany their sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students to the garden for class. Garden staff members provide instruction and expertise in the garden classroom.

Introduction

Each garden class begins in the Ramada, a central gathering place. Garden teachers greet students and their classroom teachers, introduce them to the day's tasks, and propose the Question of the Day.

Preparation

Students choose a task and break into small groups. Each group receives a detailed description of its chosen job and adjourns to the tool shed for the implements it needs to perform the task.

The Work at Hand

Typical garden tasks include mulching, weeding, compost turning, bed preparation, harvesting food for the kitchen, vermicomposting, planting, seed starting, transplanting, and a variety of hardscape jobs. Tasks are based on classroom study and the seasonal needs of the garden.

Foraging

Students are encouraged to sample produce in the garden through organized tastings, as well as spontaneous foraging. View our sample crop list to learn what types of foods students are growing, harvesting, and tasting.

Question of the Day

Students are prompted to contemplate the Question of the Day, which varies with each class, and might range from: "Name a dormant plant" to "If you were a garden superhero, what would your superpower be?" to "If you could make a recipe using something from the garden at home, what would you make?"

Clean Up

About twenty minutes before the end of the class period, a garden teacher rings a cowbell to signal cleanup. Following cleanup, everyone returns to the Ramada. Being held responsible for the cleanup and maintenance of our tools leads students to take pride in a sense of ownership of them.

Reflection

The class ends with reflection of the day's work. Each student shares his or her personal response to the 'Question of the Day', and class is dismissed.

Conclusions

Back in the classroom, sixth grade students document their experience in garden journals. Journals are kept for the duration of the semester; students are encouraged to record observations and experiences and to share what they have learned. The journals also provide anecdotal evidence and insight for classroom teachers about the significance of the program and its connections to classroom study.