Today we had out a class of second graders first thing in the morning. The thing I love the most about the second graders are the boys. Too soon will these boys become hardened by society, taught not to show feelings, to be men. Yet, while they're second graders, they still run over and fight over who gets to hold my hand. Who wouldn't find joy in being a highly sought after commodity? They are still children at this age, and have so much to teach us! I think I learned two things today: one show your true feelings (even if they go against social norms) and that it's important to let loose once in awhile, too much structure can stifle a person. We really let the kids direct the class today. They quietly sat during the story, walked when asked in the garden, and overall were extremely respectful. Not to say we didn't have our hands full. This class is so knowledgeable and eager to learn it may look like chaos to a bystander, but anytime we asked them to quiet, they immediately did so. These students really love being in the garden and learning. We chose to scrap the worksheet today, and I feel like between the compost story (talked about in detail yesterday) and physically adding and watering to our compost the students retained so much more than any worksheet could teach. Constantly using verbal reinforcement and hands on activities seem to work so much better. Even though we didn't do a pre-test this year, I'd love to see a post test just to see what the students did learn throughout the semester. I think that's the only way we'll know which method worked better and which lessons the students liked the best!
Other than that, the garden is looking healthy, and although it threatened to rain today, no luck. We have a forecast of rain for the next two days, so I'll keep my fingers crossed! Our aloe is becoming brown and spotty again, which I'm not sure why. I've been doing some online research and I keep getting conflicting information. Some websites say to water, others say not to. It was so healthy this summer when the grass took over the bed, so I just don't know what to do. Time to keep trucking through the research and hopefully find something definitive! Til next time!
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