More Than A Month’s Worth, Mrs. Uskovich’s Class
Posted on Sep 26, 2010 by admin
Regardless of the summer heat 1C has been actively involved with the natural life of the garden. It has been necessary for us to retreat into Mr. Painter’s portable for weeks now to plant our broccoli seeds, transplant the seedlings into larger cells, and begin the process of measuring and fertilizing the broccoli with a syringe. The introduction of tools to be manipulated by the students, common (rulers) or uncommon (syringe), is paramount in a child’s ability to apply mathematical concepts to their scientific life. (After reading about John Muir and Johnny Appleseed, social studies, my students are now on a mission to plant and save.) Most students are familiar with an inch ruler, but a garden objective is to incorporate the metric system for comparisons. By introducing and practicing with the syringe, students were introduced at young age to the vocabulary: volume and milliliters. These terms will be remembered because it will be a weekly hands-on activity.
Another occasion when we needed to utilize Mr. Painter’s portable was followed by a lesson where the students discussed beneficial and destructive insects. (What insects might be interested in our broccoli?) Every child is familiar with the all time favorite lady beetle (beneficial), Mr. Painter prefers this term, but failed to recognize a destructive insect. We took a 10 minute observational stroll with the objective of recording insect activity. I instructed the students to stop and inspect the plants closely with only their eyes. The garden was teaming with activity. Pipe-vine caterpillars were obvious and elicited fond memories from the past. Dragonflies, there were too many to count, but we were so fortunate to see one land on the okra and molt!!! 
It is that time of the year that leaf-footed bugs are active. It took less than 5 minutes for the first sighting. I stepped back waiting for the first discoveries observing for myself the changes in the facial expressions. I can not explain how it touches my soul when their eyes are bursting with yet another secret of the garden. In less than 10 minutes we acquired 17 leaf-footed bugs of various sizes, mostly on the lizard-tail gaura. We brought them back indoors, discussed geometric shapes on their bodies, measured, and then drew our own illustrations. Student conclusion: This was a blast! Teacher conclusion: The possiblities are endless.
Our next objective was to begin understanding directions (N-S-E-W) so we could determine plants and their location. Students were asked to decided which wildflowers they viewed most predominant in the garden. They agreed that it was the Cosmos. They were given maps of the garden, clipboards, and pencils. Each student had to map the Cosmos in the garden using the school building and Mr. Painter’s portable as their reference points. They then had the option of illustrating the flower. I was amazed at their skills at this point in the year.
A culminating activity at the end of each year is for the grade levels to plant summer crops for next year’s classes. We share our garden with one another with the goal of sharing our knowledge from class to class. My class last year planted four varieties of basil. I, with the help of Mr. Painter and Ms. Nash, maintained this crop over the summer. The herb, basil, is a wonderful introduction into multi-sensory learning. The color/patterns of the leaves/blooms, the amazing smell, the oil on the fingers after rubbing, and that fresh taste, all of it – calms, yet educates the brain. I explained to the class that we had a sense of duty to collect seeds to save for next year’s class. So we went to the community garden, where I acquired extra rows, for my class to collect basil. The students came inside so excited with yet another activity that was not routine, but later required data collection and writing, and ready to work. I can never prepare for the unexpected. The students discovered 5 stink bugs in different stages, which we immediately researched on the computer. We even discovered an inch worm, its really a caterpillar. Therefore, we were able to add to our continued research another insect. (A student came in a few days later to tell me that on the Weather Channel there was a interview with an expert on stink bugs that were eating the corn crops. Would that student have paid attention to that detail had they not had their own natural experience?) We had fun collecting the stink bugs, one incident involved using a butterfly net, and congratulating those that found more. Teamwork at its best! 
This is going to be yet another great year of boosting our brains
by the power nature supplies.
Barbara Uskovich
(photos: Barbara Uskovich)
Categories: First Grade |
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