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Learning in the Outdoor Grove
Scott Andersen | April 12, 2011 | Comment (1)
Now that the spring weather is settling in, I am reminded, and still amazed, at how much our students love to work (and play) in our outdoor grove.
We have a lot of activity going on in our grove. We are in the process of installing a sensory path and an edible garden and we also have many new plantings all around. One of our classes is monitoring rain fail, another is doing planting experiments with root plants, herbs and vegetables, and others are testing flowers.
Our greenhouse is full of sprouting flowers and veggies, our planter boxes have young plants in them, and our outdoor grove is undergoing a transformation into a sensory trail and an edible garden. It is wonderful to watch.
But what is more amazing is how our students are so engaged with all of it. They enjoy watching the progress of their plantings from seeds, to sprouts, to full-size plants.

Two-year old students put in the plants for one of the sensory garden elements in our outdoor grove.
Naturally, as shown in the first photo (above), the students love digging in the dirt. They also equally love learning about the life cycle of plants, what conditions makes them grow, or not, and how they can create the best conditions for growth.
The teachers then use the planting of the flowers and vegetables as a lesson to how we can take care of ourselves, each other and our surrounding environment.
I look forward to watching the work of our students as their flowers, herbs and vegetables grow and blossom. Of course, I also hope to eat some of it too!
Enjoy the photos below.









