Spring is here! There is so much growth after the colder winter months. You’ll see a tree with no leaves one day and then next time you look, it’s covered with these bright green ones! Grasses wake up, flowers start to appear, and everything looks so fresh! Here are a few ideas for March and April. Remember, you can make your lessons as laid back or vigorous as you like. It doesn’t matter what the activity or lesson is, the kiddos just love being in the garden! Have fun and happy growing!
- Garden Maintenance (ongoing every class)
- Weed your garden plot or other common areas.
- Rake leaves and add to compost pile
- Sweep dirt off pathways
- Organize the shed
- Water water water
- Cut back bermuda grass (with scissors like giving a haircut)
- Life Cycles and bugs
- Dive into the Life Cycle of a Bee with this lesson
- Life Cycle of a butterfly (mariposa) lesson or this one
- Make this water cycle visual or for older kiddos try this one
- Talk about the life cycle of a ladybug (mariquita), you will often see the larva stage in the garden. You can then bring in some real ladybugs and release them.
- Ants are coming back so why not learn about them too. Here are some Ant facts and art work you can do, or even make an ant farm.
- Don’t forget about the chickens. They should be laying eggs soon. You can talk about their life cycle.
- Talk about good bugs and bad bugs for the garden, then go on a bug hunt and see if you can identify them.
- Check out the beehives with this lesson
- With Spring brings baby birds: Build a bird’s nest or one like this one
- Learn about the nitrogen cycle which plants need to be healthy
- Make a solitary bug or bee hotel
- Art Ideas
- Vegetables under the ground
- The real poppies will be here soon why not make Poppy art with coffee filters or poppy bowls with clay
- Make sun prints with construction paper or use sun print paper
- Sun catchers with flower petals
- Bead and pinecone mobile
- Weather Fun – weather is a big deal when it comes to gardening.
- March and April tend to be windy so why not make a wind vein
- Learn about anemometers and then make one
- Make a wind car
- Wind socks are fun to make too
- Learn about the different types of clouds
- Make a solar oven
- Make a rain gauge
- Demonstrate how a thermometer works with this diy thermometer
- Pollination and flowers
- Learn about pollination with this foldable or this hands on activity
- Dissect a daffodil to learn about pollination
- Parts of a plant and their needs
- Learn how roots work by doing this experiment
- Explore further with roots and learn their names
- Review what a plant needs to survive
- Show how plants breathe with this activity
- Dissect a seed if you didn’t do it last month
- Egg themed (Easter is April 17)
- Make natural herb stenciled Easter Eggs
- Dye Easter eggs from plants
- Make hand print lilies
- String Easter Eggs
- Nature Easter Eggs
- How strong is an egg – STEM activity
- Egg drop – STEM activity
- Earth Day (Friday, April 22)
- Earth day seed bombs
- Earth Day Necklaces
- Introduction to compost
- Composting (upper grades)
- Talk about reducing, reusing and recycling. Sort trash into the groups.
- Make something out of reused material like these butterflies, egg egg carton flowers, egg carton bugs, bird houses or toilet paper roll bugs
- Do this water pollution experiment or this one
Planting: New transplants have arrived and are ready to be planted.
- Choose 1 dill or 1 fennel (only one flat of each so not enough for each class to have both)
- Choose 2 lettuces (choose from Adriana, Alkindus, Little Gem, Red Salad bowl)
- 1 Sweet Banana Pepper
- Choose 1 Serrano or 1 Shisito (Again only 1 flat of each so not enough for each class to have both)
- Choose 1 Early Girl or 1 Purple Cherokee tomato (big tomatoes)
- Choose 1 Sun Gold or 1 Super Sweet 100 (cherry tomatoes)
Here are some other things that you can plant in your bed too.
March
- Asian Greens
- Snap and Lima (starting mid March)
- Chard, Swiss (seeds or transplants)
- Corn
- Cucumber (starting mid March)
- eggplant (transplants – starting mid March)
- Greens, cold season
- Greens, warm season (starting mid March)
- Kohlrabi (seeds or transplants beg. March)
- Lettuce (seeds or transplants – through the beg. March)
- Peppers (transplants)
- Pumpkin (starting mid March)
- Radishes
- Squash, summer (starting mid March)
- Tomatoes (transplants)
- Turnip
April:
- Beans
- lima and snap
- Cantaloupe
- Chard
- Swiss
- Greens, warm season
- Cucumber
- Eggplant (transplants)
- Okra
- Peas, southern
- Peppers (transplants)
- Potato, sweet
- Pumpkin
- Squash
- Tomatoes (transplants)
- Watermelon