A Garden of Growing Activities!

Dust off your gardening tools! It's the time of the year to put the spring in your step and exercise your green thumb. This week, Education World offers a plot full of gardening activities that will have students "digging" for more! Included: Activities in which students grow a mystery vegetable garden, design a geometric-shaped garden, and much more!

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Spring is in the air! As the seasons change, classrooms everywhere come alive with gardening projects. Gardening activities provide a host of exciting learning experiences for students of all ages!

Why not start your growing season by applying for one of the 400 Youth Garden Grants from the National Gardening Association? The grants are open to schools, community organizations, and other educational groups that get students involved in gardening! Each grant offers materials needed to maintain gardens, including tools, seeds, and garden products.

Help your students spring into action with five gardening activities from Education World! Read the brief descriptions below for each lesson. Click any headline for a complete teaching resource!

• Mystery Vegetable Garden
  Students plant vegetable seeds and guess which plants will grow. (Grades K-2, 3-5)

• Geometric Gardens
  Students create a geometric-shaped flower garden. (Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8)

• Vegetable Rock Garden
  Students grow vegetable sections without soil, using water and pebbles or small rocks. (Grade K-2, 3-5)

• How Much Water Do Plants Need?
  Students study the effects of varying amounts of water on common houseplants. (Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8)

• "Greenhouse" Sprouts Garden
  Students grow sprouts from seeds using soil in clear plastic bags. (Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8)

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• The PLANTS Database This database, part of the United States Department of Agriculture Web site, provides detailed information about plants in the United States and its territories. Visitors can search by the common name, scientific name, or symbol.
• Seeds of Change Garden This site provides information about diversity in plants and history by describing the evolution of agriculture and cuisine around the globe.
• Plant Growth and Development This in-depth unit from the Colorado Springs District 11 Schools provides a host of activities and resources for studying plant growth.
• The Dirt on Dirt This Web page from the Bureau of Land Management, provides information about life inside soil.