Today was my last day of teaching for the spring semester 2011, but definitely not the last time I will be teaching at the Peace Patch. The kids came out and ran into their groups, excited for this week’s lesson. Unfortunately it was not a lesson today, but a little test on all of the lessons that we have taught throughout the semester. It seemed like we hid the fact that it was a test from the kids pretty well because they were so excited to do the worksheet and got started right away, no complaints! It also could have been because we told them that if they were good they would get to play a game at the end of class. Anytime the kids were having a little trouble with one of the questions I would mention a game or activity that we did over the semester and they would remember the answer. This semester has helped me realize that this active teaching style works really well with kids and I’m pretty jealous that I didn’t have a program like this at my elementary school.

Once the worksheet was completed we played the compost game and a few rounds of the butterfly life cycle.

After the students left Jamie, Sarah, and I were visited by a preschooler whose pet butterfly had hatched around 9:00 this morning. It is the second one she has released into our garden this year! These preschoolers have not yet experienced the garden lessons, but they already have a fascination with butterflies and nature so I’m excited to teach them more next year.

It was a little sad leaving the garden and saying bye to all of my students, but I know we will all be back next year for more garden fun in the Peace Patch.

Ethan Mauger