School Gardens with Ease
Discover how to effortlessly integrate school gardens into your elementary or middle school curriculum with the School Gardens with Ease Podcast. This podcast is your go-to resource for creating flourishing and productive food gardens that provide long-term educational benefits. Learn tips, strategies, and insights to help you grow and maintain a sustainable school garden that enhances your teaching and inspires students for years to come.
School Gardens with Ease
20: The Biggest Mistake in Gardening Lesson Plans—And How to Fix It!
In this episode of School Gardens with Ease, host Leila Mireskandari reveals the biggest mistake teachers make when writing or finding gardening lesson plans. Spoiler alert: it's all about how you approach them!
Leila explains that many teachers start by focusing on their curriculum needs—like teaching math, science, or language arts—and then try to build a gardening lesson around those topics. While that method might work for some hands-on activities, it’s not the right approach for growing a garden. Leila breaks down why this strategy leads to scattered, non-cohesive lessons that won't help you or your students grow an actual garden.
Instead, Leila shares her expert approach: Start with the garden! From there, create a step-by-step list of tasks needed to grow your garden, then tie those tasks back to your core curriculum. Whether you’re planning a classroom, container, raised bed, or in-ground garden, this method ensures that your students grow a thriving garden while learning a variety of subjects in the process.
Highlights of this episode include:
- Examples of ineffective gardening lesson plans
- Why gardening isn’t a one-off activity like cooking
- How to connect gardening activities to multiple curriculum subjects
- The importance of proper timing and task management in growing a garden
- Leila’s secret for creating impactful, cohesive lesson plans for classroom gardens
Leila also introduces her Oasis series of programs, which offer ready-to-use lesson plans designed to help teachers grow a full garden during class time in just 10 hours over spring. Whether you’re new to school gardens or looking to improve your gardening lesson plans, this episode is packed with actionable advice.
Key Takeaway: Start with the garden and build your lesson plans around what needs to be done to grow it—then link those tasks to your curriculum.
Resources Mentioned:
- Oasis Series Programs: Find pre-made lesson plans and guides to grow your classroom garden effortlessly.
- Leila’s Recommended Seed List for Schools – Click here for a list of easy-to-grow seeds for your classroom garden.
- Learn the best technique for indoor seed starting for classrooms that guarantees your success in growing strong and health seedlings using this Indoor Seed Starting in Schools: PDF Guide
If you have any questions or need more tips, feel free to reach out to Leila for future episode topics.
Leilam@kidsgrowingcity.ca