Integrated Learning and Teaching in the Moment: Outdoors at Abingdon Elementary School

by Mary Van Dyke

Thanks very much to Abingdon Elementary School’s 3rd Grade Teacher, Mark Fox and Jordan Kivitz, Science Lab Teacher for hosting this month’s APS School Garden Meetup hour.

Mark and Jordan share a brief history of their school garden, tips on their integrative teaching approach and garden maintenance, and some salient stories. Mark has been at Abingdon Elementary School a couple of years now and this is Jordan’s first year at the school and they are working together to bring experiential learning experiences to the children. A month ago, a teacher and class looked out of their window and saw a fox walking in the woods near the school. The fox then caught a rabbit right in front of the class’s eyes. Mark also found a family of bunnies in the garden. Such a direct and memorable experience for a class can be easily tied by a skilled teacher to the relevant grade-level curriculum for the students: in this case food webs, lifecycles, habitats, urban ecology and more.

Jordan takes K- 5 students out as often as he can to learn to the Outdoor Science Lab - aka The Garden.

At this point 4th grade have committed to VA Studies and have not participated, but at other APS schools, 4th graders do go outdoors to learn. There’s a wide variety of programs for outdoor learning at each of the elementary schools within APS and during the Meetup we share these differences and our commonalities. Jordan studied integrative learning at college, and now designs curriculum-linked experiential lessons for outdoors: including weather, soil, plant and animal habitat and lifecycle studies.

The Garden is fenced, there is some water and a shed nearby, and there is a big covered composting bin.  

 

Plenty of rabbits live in the area. The Garden is formally laid out. Within the picket fence, there is a series of large raised beds to each side, a center aisle and a gathering space near the entrance.

Teachers have adopted some of the raised bed plots. Teachers are using QR codes to link to the Abingdon Garden website with info on each of the beds. One teacher has a successful pollinator garden with herbs and flowers.

Another teacher is growing an ornamental cabbage garden.
Mark mentioned that the students love the Bok Choy they grow too!

Other plots were planted in the fall with tulips and spring bulbs.

Students are measuring rainfall and observing the weather outdoors.

We talk about vegetables to plant in the spring that cycle with the school year: what will grow best in the shadier beds, what will thrive in the sun? One early spring crop to grow could be potatoes, another could be kale? Mark tells a story about 200 cabbage plants arriving as a gift, and how they got bugs!  That was another memorable teaching moment.

One challenge is enabling more classroom teachers to feel comfortable and competent teaching outside. Teachers are often concerned that the maintenance will be too much for them if they take on a bed

Help is much appreciated from parents and community. Mark as 3rd Grade Teacher takes out his students and also helps with coordinating garden maintenance and reclaimed the garden when he first arrived. This year he organized the very successful community clean-up their Green Apple Day of Service, that was filmed by Green Scene (and highlights service days at Abingdon, Discovery and Jamestown ES).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvKirA0n4Ak

Custodians are now set to help Mark with mowing of the grass in the garden. We talk about techniques such as sowing cover crops to improve soil condition, or layering beds with newspaper and mulch to reduce weeds while waiting to plant crops.

The Abingdon Garden will be moved in upcoming renovations of the school. Mark and Jordan are optimistic about the relocation of the Garden and opportunities to further develop the Garden and their teaching program on a new site. Although it will be a big transition, it’s also a chance to redesign the garden, focus on their community, the students and what the current needs are, and to perhaps with some funding to add some more supporting infrastructure, irrigation and other features.

We discuss year-round outdoor learning curriculum and how to more share between us all?

Perhaps anyone interested could meet up informally during the summer and share pacing and grade-level projects and lesson ideas?

Thanks again to Mark Fox and Jordan Kivitz for hosting this month's APS Garden Meetup, an initiative of the APS Superintendent's Advisory Committee on Sustainability.

Please join us for the next APS Garden Meetups:

January 11, 4 - 5 PM
Special discussion on energy activities for schools in partnership with the Superintendent's Advisory Committee on Sustainability and the Arlington School's Green Action Award, host Elenor Hodges, ACE. Place to be confirmed.

February 8 , 4 - 5 PM at Tuckahoe ES
Come network and share activities for wintry days with Margaret Egan, STEAM Teacher and Tuckahoe PTA representative Andrea Kaplowitz.

Here's my two-minute movie Herbs for Life: Parsley
The movie is the first in a series about herbs, their cultivation, health benefits and cuisine.

Click on the link to view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOQT7rWmVVc&feature=youtu.be

I am presenting my proposal on a Herbs For Life TM project at next week's INOVA Health System BrainPower Symposium on the Future of Health.

The goals of the Herbs for Life project are to bring together multi-stakeholder partnerships: consumers, growers plus education and healthcare providers to increase individual and community access to herbs and promote the health and cultural benefits.

I'll post the link to the Herbs for Life presentation in a week or two.
In the meantime enjoy the video about Parsley - and the many flavors of the herbs you eat and their health benefits!

A Herb Garden at the Doorstep...

In Greece and other countries, people often grow Basil by the front door of the house - to bring good luck.

Recently I visited several affordable housing complexes with a property developer. Staff and I talk about ways to bring gardening opportunities to residents.  "Why not begin with growing some edible and pickable herbs within easy reach of the office - out there in a pretty pot by the door?" I've been dreaming too: "How about growing something munchable in a pot or two close to the kitchen door - some herbs to graze on, to pick for salads, to flavor my cooking."

As an experiment, I'm making 4 or 5 container mini-gardens or pots full of herbs.

I already grow a selection of mints in a medium-sized pot and an Earthbox.  Mints are shallow-rooted, and grow well in cool temperatures.  Mints can crowd other plants out and grow well alone in confined spaces - like a pot. Mint has the refreshing toothpaste taste, and comes in several kinds and flavors.  Try them and grow your favorites.  As a woman at the apartments told me:  "Nothing is better on a hot day than making tea from your own homegrown mint!"

 

I plant Italian parsley in another small pot - with a saucer. Parsley likes to have water constantly available from below - so I will try to keep the saucer full throughout the summer.

Each of these pots will tell a story, a story about the ecology of the plants, culture and cuisine...

The big resin pot I decide to plant with Mediterranean herbs: lavender, thyme, rosemary and oregano.  These scented herbs thrive in the dry, limestone rocky mountain landscapes that remind me of my childhood in Greece.  To select the herb types I am inspired by Adrian Higgins' article in The Washington Post - and go shop for herbs at DeBaggio's.

To fill the pot I make a quick-draining mix of equal proportions earth, mulch and a bag of 3/8" gravel (you could use chicken grit).

The herbs I buy for this big pot are:

• Golden Lemon Thyme, Thymus x citridorus
• Caraway Thyme, Thymus herba-barona
• Prostrate Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis
• French Lavender, Lavendula stoechas 'Mulberry Ruffles'
• Nastursium - Alaska Mixed
• Hot and Spicy Oregano, Origanum "Hot and Spicy'
• Alpine Strawberry, Fragaria vesca
• Dwarf Sage, Salvia officinalis 'Nana'

Here's how to plant.  Take the plant from the pot, tease apart the roots, dig a hole in the soil in your pot, fill with water and put in the plant.  Tamp the soil back around the plant - making sure the plant is neither to deep or too shallow.

I cover the soil with 3/8" pebbles to help drain after rains.

Where's the integrated STEM Learning in growing herbs?

Plan a series of lessons about the senses and observation: one lesson could be about the nose, tongue and taste and scent.  Bring a bunch of triple-washed herbs for each child to try a leaf or two.

• Math: budget the cost of the project, calculate ratios for the earth mix.

• Technology: How are the pots made? How do the pots perform (plastic or resin, unglazed earthernware or glazed pottery)?  How do you water (irrigation, sumps, overhead)?  How do you provide the necessary light and warmth for the herbs to thrive? 

• Science: Observe the weather, the insects and animals around your herb garden.  You will be interested to see what happens over the year. Chemistry: Discover the phytonutrients and chemicals in each herb, research their history, folklore and medicinal uses.

• Engineering: How would you do this better next year?  What tools help?

• Social Studies: Research the global spice and herb trade connections, routes and commerce.  There is Colonial history curriculum about the herbs that were grown in Virginia and used by native Americans, and other herbs that were imported by early settlers from England and the Mediterranean. Celebrate Colonial Days at your school with activities that evoke the C17: From lavender flowers in your garden you can make scented lavender sachets for your closet, and you can mix chopped green herbs like chives and thyme into cream cheese to taste with crackers.

Make some mint tea - and enjoy exploring the herb garden world at your doorstep!