Last Day of Session One: All about Oranges

Today was the last day of Garden Club Session One for this school year. The kids were full of energy and eager to get their hands dirty.

In the Garden:
We harvested radishes that we grew from seeds planted just a few weeks ago.

Activity:
We made orange pomanders...a fun holiday decoration to make your home smell sweet and spicy. We attempted to make fruit-stamped gift bags, but unfortunately all we have is acrylic paint (sorry!). If anyone is interested in donating Tempura paint, let me know.

Next session we will be making aprons to attempt to keep the kids a bit cleaner while working in the garden!

Enjoy the holiday break,
The Garden Gals

Welcome Mrs. LeVan and Mrs. Hogrebe's Classes

We are lucky enough to have two more classes join our school garden. Mrs. LeVan's class planted purple cabbage and Mrs. Hogrebe's class planted Chinese cabbage -- after pulling oodles of wild mint from the garden boxes! They will be monitoring the progress of their plants as they grow larger. Mrs. Hogrebe is going to have her class sketch the growth of the plants.

Worm Hotel

In the Garden:
We welcomed worms into our garden. We now have a worm composting bin to make our our organic fertilizer for our garden. The kids loved seeing the worms wriggling!

Activity:
The students planted radish and calendula seeds in adorable tin flower pots that they were able to take home. Be sure to give them sunshine and water and watch them grow. The kids also finished writing in their garden journals so they could keep them.

Mrs. Jamison's Lettuce

Recently, Mrs. Jamison's Third Grade class visited the garden and started working on their plot. They will be sharing a garden box with Mrs. Grass's class. The students planted Bibb lettuce and look forward to watching it grow!

Mrs. Grasso's Peppers

We had a very exciting day in the garden...our first classroom planted in one of the beds! Mrs. Grasso's third grade class planted a mix of red, green and orange bell peppers so that they can get hands-on experience with their plant-related science studies. It was wonderful to have some students that had not had the chance to be in the garden before. The class will monitor and tend to their garden about once a month.

Limeade Taste Test

Garden Projects:
Limeade: Today in the garden we picked fresh limes from our lime tree and made limeade using agave sweetener. We then picked herbs from the garden to infuse our limeade. Children got to choose from rosemary, mint, or lavendar-flavored limeade. Mint was the most popular. Try it at home!

Bean TeePee:
The kids helped build a bean teepee from bamboo poles that we tied together. We planted pole beans around the bottom that will crawl up the bamboo and make a green hideout for kids. We used rocks for the "floor" of the teepee and a tree stump to sit on.

Garden-Themed Activity:
Kids had the option to use bug stencils to draw and color pictures of their own creation. Lots of creative art pieces!

Thank you Rebecca Meekma (Maggie & Izzy's mom) for providing snack!

Herb Bouquets

We had a fun-filled day in the garden today. Here's what we were up to:

A Visitor to Our Garden!

Garden Activity:
The students helped plant sweet peas along the chain link fence in order to "beautify" the garden a bit.

We cleaned up our "Digging" section of the garden and looked for buried fossils. Unfortunately, we didn't find any (I'll have to hid some before class next week...Shhhh!).

Activity Theme: All about Herbs
We picked herbs from our Herb Garden Bed and bundled them with a bow for the kids to take home with a label of which herbs were included. Most kids took home: Sage, Tarragon, Lavendar, Rosemary, and Thyme. The bouquets smelled so good.

We also did a color hunt. The kids worked together in groups of three to find items in the garden that matched earth-toned paint swatches they were given. They had fun trying to find the perfect match.

Thank you Jan Schrieber (aka Quinn's mom) for snacks!

Fall Harvest

This week in the garden we picked the fruits of our labor...literally.

In the Garden:

Picked from our garden!

• The students had fun picking watermelon and cucumber melon from the garden. We enjoyed having the fresh fruit for snack.  
• We continued to weed out the wild mint.
• Our Master Gardener volunteer Gena assisted the kids with planting radishes, marigolds, and calendula.
• We spotted a huge grasshopper sitting quietly on one of our strawberry plants.

Activity Theme: Sunscreen!

• Since our shade structure collapsed in a winter storm last year, we needed to get creative with providing shade for the kids. Today in the garden they decorated sun visors to use when they are in the garden.

A special thanks to Kim Lucas for providing a healthy snack to fuel the kids for gardening.

Pumpkin Patch!

This week in the garden it was all about the pumpkins. The seeds that we planted last spring sprouted successfully and grew into eight large pumpkins. 



Garden Projects:

• The kids eagerly harvested the pumpkins and then weeded the garden bed for future planting.
• We planted a navel orange tree that was donated by the Orange County Great Park.

Activity Theme: Cooperation

The kids worked in small groups to create a design for each of the pumpkins. They had to collaborate to come up with one design per group and then worked together to decorate the pumpkin with their design using permanent markers, puffy paint, and stickers. It was nice to see how well they worked together.

Next week: Tasting what's growing in the garden. Garden Journals.

2011: Session One in the Garden

Session One in the El Morro After School Garden Club has begun. We are off to a great start in the garden this year. The summer sunshine helped our garden blossom. The students were so excited to see what was growing: pumpkins, bell peppers, herbs, cucumber melons, honeydew melons, watermelons.


We kicked off our first class by making nametag buttons and teaching the kids the rules of the garden.
Each week we will start off with a healthy snack and have a garden project and an activity that focuses mainly on science or art. Here's what we did this week:


Garden Projects:

• Pulled weeds. The wild mint was taking over!
• Picked marigolds to take home.
• Renewed the Fairy Garden that had become overgrown.
• Cleaned up the Herb/Sensory Garden.

Art Activity:

• Made nametag buttons and got to know each other.

Next class will focus on oranges and pumpkins!

Summer in the Garden

The El Morro garden is thriving!

Here's what's growing:

• Full size pumpkin
• Full size watermelon
• Corn on the cob
• Large bell peppers
• Tons of marigolds
• Several honeydew melons
• An abundance of herbs
• Strawberries

Last week we did a "work day" and pulled lots of wild mint, pruned the plants, and worked on cleaning up the straw bale seating area that has decomposed. Thanks to Sophie, Luna, and Manou for helping out.

We will do another work day before schools starts and would love as many helping hands as we can get.

Please join us on Tuesday, Aug. 30 at 10 a.m. Bring sunscreen, water and a hat. Garden tools and gloves will be provided. I'll bring some snacks!

Happy Summer,
Sharael

Wrapping Up the Garden Club

å sweet note from Julia!

The 2010-2011 El Morro Garden Club has come to an end. On behalf of the Garden Gals (Sharael, Pam, Gena, Elaine), I'd like to say thank you for a wonderful year. It has been such a pleasure getting to know your children in the garden. It's been an exciting year! Thanks to our volunteers for lending a hand: Karen, Frana, Natalie, and Missy. Feel free to stop by and take a peek at the garden during Open House.

Happy Summer!
Sharael Kolberg (aka Katelyn's Mom)

Eating Plant Parts

This week in the garden we planted pumpkins! We hope they'll grow big and strong over the summer so that we can harvest some for Halloween next year.

We also discussed food likes and dislikes. The kids had fun taking a survey of which students liked or disliked the same food. Then we talked about eating balanced meals and meal planning.

I brought labels for out fruit trees (apples, lemon, lime, avocado) so the kids can tell what's growing.

We added a cool new feature to the digging site...fossils! The kids (mostly the boys) had a great time using their shovels to find the "fossils."

Our strawberries are doing great and hopefully we can harvest them soon. The temporary rabbit fence is keeping the bunnies away. I brought jicama for snack and the kids loved it! Try it at home.

April Funday Monday in the Garden

As usual, we had a swarm of kids participate in the Funday Monday this month. Here are the activities they participated in...

Seed Tape: We made wildflower seed tape for the kids to take home and plant using paper towels, flour paste, seeds, and  recycled toilet paper rolls.

Pet Rocks: Kids got to paint pet rocks to take home!

We also pulled weeds (mint that has taken over the hillside) and watered the fruit trees.

Eggs, Corn, and Beets

This week in the garden we could feel spring in the air!
We kicked-off garden club with an egg hunt.

In the Garden: The students planted corn, freckled lettuce, and more flowers.

Activity: The kids had the chance to learn and eat the parts of a plant.

• Roots: Carrots, beets
• Shoots: Celery
• Leaves: Lettuce
• Seeds: Sunflower seeds
• Flowers: Talked about edible flowers
• Fruit: Grapple (looks like an apple, tastes like a grape)

New Addition: The boys in particular LOVED our new garden addition...the "Excavation Site" where they can dig holes!

Have a Happy Spring Break!

The Garden Gals

Planting a Sensory Garden

This week in the El Morro school garden, the students finished painting their bird houses. We filled them with birdseed and the kids got to take them home to welcome birds to their own yard. We also kept a couple to decorate our garden.

The students also planted a "sensory garden" in one of the beds. This is to encourage them to use all of their senses while exploring the garden. The sensory garden includes:

• Sight: Bird house, pinwheel, decorative butterfly
• Smell/Taste: Plenty of aromatic edible herbs -- rosemary, thyme, mint, oregano, cilantro, lemon balm, basil, and tarragon.
• Touch: Lamb's ear
• Sound: Windchimes (coming soon)

We also attached garden tiles, that were painted during Funday Monday, to the boxes. And we left time to just have fun blowing bubbles in the garden!

Animals in the Garden

Today we had some special guests in our garden...a salamander and a (kid-friendly) snake! No, they were not wild...OC Park Ranger Sue Stoffel visited the garden and gave a presentation about what types of animals we might see in the garden/nature. The kids got to pet the live creatures, as well as touch an owl's wing, view several skeletons, and feel the fur of a fox. Thanks Ranger Sue! 

We also had time to plant some marigolds and started painting bird houses.

Looking for a fun outing with the kids? Visit Ranger Sue at the Muth Interpretive Center in Newport's Back Bay.

March Funday Monday in the Garden

Funday Monday in the garden was a hit with the kids today. Students were able to choose from one of three adult-led activities during lunchtime:

• Planting radish seeds to take home.
• Harvesting the last of the swiss chard and broccoli.
• Painting a tile to attach to the garden boxes.
• They also had the option for "free play"-- lots of interest in investigating the Fairy Garden with magnifying glasses.

We had about 90 students participate. Thanks to Frana, Natalie, and Gena for volunteering! 

Session Three: Free Play

We're off to a great start for Session Three in the garden. We went over the rules on how to stay safe and have fun while in the school garden. 

This session is a bit different than the others. We're trying something new and allowing the students to choose how they'd like to spend their time after school rather than being directed towards specific activities at specific times. Now, they can choose to assist with the garden (planting, weeding, harvesting) or participate in the activity of the day (painting bird houses, pressing flowers, garden scavenger hunt, labeling the parts of a plant, etc.), or (thanks to our sponsors) select something from the "free play" bin (garden-themed books, blank journals, magnifying glasses, art supplies, garden bingo, etc.). This type of open (yet supervised) structure seemed to work well and everyone had a great time.

In the Garden: We harvested some lettuce that the bunnies had munched on and planted radish seeds and sunflowers. In addtion to the two "covered" boxes, we also constructed (w/o the kids) a plastic mesh barrier for one of the boxes, which seems to be working.

Activity: The kids decorated plastic flower pots and planted pansies in them to take home the following week. Thank you to the PTA for donating the pots and paint.

Mucho Mulch!

We had a parent/volunteer workday in the garden over the weekend and are pleased to announce that we finally were able to get mulch delivered to use between the garden beds. In an effort to kill the crab grass that has taken over the area, we put weed barrier cloth down first, covered it with cardboard and then put the mulch on top. The added benefit is that it also gives the garden a more "finished" look. 

We were also fortunate to have a Master Gardener on-hand to prune our fruit trees in hopes of a spring harvest of apples, peaches, avocados, and lemons. Yum!

Let us know if you are interested in volunteering in the garden! We can always use an extra hand for Funday Monday (lunchtime), Garden Club (after school), or Work Days (weekend).

Sincerely,

The Garden Gals

"The Garden" by Eliana E. Martini

During the Garden Club, students are given the option to write/illustrate a journal. Here is a beautiful summary by Eliana of what we did during the second session in the El Morro garden.

Session Two Salad

We ended session two in the garden with a fresh-picked salad...and believe it or not most of the kids were more than thrilled to try it. If they grow it, they will eat it. 

The salad consisted of broccoli, swiss chard, red leaf lettuce, radish, bok choy, cabbage, and sweet peas...all of which were grown in the El Morro garden! We did add some croutons and carrots for flavor. Natalie Newberry, Austin's mom, was a rock star...she dashed off to get the forgotten salad dressing! 

Pam Shaffer and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with your kids in the garden. A big thanks also goes out to Karen Keel and Frana Banks for lending a hand when they can. And we would be lost without our Master Gardeners, Gena St. Denis Way and Elaine Rudin. It takes a village to grow a garden. We look forward to see what sprouts next session.

Building a Fairy Garden

Today in the El Morro Garden the students got to use their imagination. We had Dani and Kim from Dragonfly Hollow Nursery stop by and give a workshop on how to build a fairy garden. They donated items to the garden so the kids could build one in our school garden. It turned out great and the kids were thrilled! Each student even got to take home a trellis to build a fairy garden in their own backyard.

On a sad note, the recent stormy weather caused our canopy to blow over and break, so we no longer have shade for the picnic table. And the wind also blew the covers off of our garden boxes, so the bunnies had a blast eating most of the produce that we've been growing, as well as Mrs. Goodman's cucumber seedlings. Gardening can be a challenge, but also a learning experience.

Seedlings: New and Old

The El Morro garden's produce is growing quickly. Some of the seedlings we planted just weeks ago are nearly ready to harvest. It's been exciting watching the kids watch the garden grow. We were also lucky to receive new seedlings for planting during the last garden club:

• Mr. Duddy gave us three Sweet Pea seedlings that were started at the district office.
• Mrs. Goodman's class handed over six cucumber seedlings that they grew from seed in class.
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Thanks to a collaboration between OC Waste Management and TVI, the garden also received a donation of woodchips to put in between the garden boxes. Not only does it make the garden look more manicured, it also covers the cardboard that was laid down to kill the crabgrass. 

Bugs and Broccoli

Another exciting day for the El Morro Garden Club...

In the Garden:

Our veggies are growing big. The kids had the chance to sample swiss chard and kale fresh from the garden. Most were eager to give it a taste test. Try it at home...you might be surprised! The kids were excited about seeing the actually broccoli crowns starting to sprout. We used rulers to measure our veggies and recorded the results in a chart graph. Most were more than 5 inches tall.

Activity Time:

The students learned about bugs...which ones are beneficial (butterflies and ladybugs) and which ones are detrimental (aphids). We used our bug cards to try to identify bugs in the garden...luckily we didn't find any! The kids also got to examine composting worms using magnifying glasses. 

Art in the Garden:

Each student got to paint a ceramic tile that we attached to the garden boxes. It looks so wonderful to see some of the children's art in the garden.

Thank you to Frana Sadler for bringing yummy rolls and jam for snack and Finnegan for bringing pretzels.

Featured Web site:

Savannah's Organic Ranch in Aliso Viejo

Recommended Reading:

Grow it, Cook it with Kids by Amanda Grant

El Morro Water Heroes

Here's what the Garden Club was up to this week...

In the Garden:

• The Garden Club students helped revive the Native Plant garden at the front of the school by adding additional native and water-wise plants.
• The students each received a Garden Journal to use as they desire. Suggestions were to draw what they see in the garden and/or write about what it looks like.
• We laid down weed barrier and cardboard in between the garden boxes to kill the crabgrass.
• Filled the bird feeders, painted the bird bath.

Activity Time:

• The students painted garden signs to identify the native plants we added to the garden.
• We had a guest speaker from the Laguna Beach County Water District attend Garden Club and give kids tips about how to conserve water.
• The students painted a rain barrel that will be kept on campus to catch some of that free water from the sky!

Thank you to our sponsors for their kind donations:

• Cardboard donated by Lighthouse Solar
• Weed Barrier cloth donated by Transition Laguna Beach
• Rain Barrel and acrylic paint donated by Laguna Beach County Water District 
• Seeds provided by Master Gardeners of Orange County 

Funday Monday in the Garden!

The El Morro Garden had its first Funday Monday and it was a huge success. We had about 80 students from all grades participate in our garden projects. We pulled weeds, raked leaves, water plants, and picked up trash in the garden. The students also painted a beautiful mural of the garden that is now adorning the garden fence. It was a fun day for all who participated.

Thanks to the PTA for providing paint and brushes for the event! We will continue to have Funday Monday in the garden on the 4th Monday of each month. All students are welcome to participate. We also invite parents to attend. Thanks for helping our garden grow!