“When your bum is numb, your brain is numb”  ~Dr Peter Liljedahl

"Look up, look down, look all around!"  ~Mr. Czarka :)

"Tools; not toys."  ~Mr. Czarka :)

• Always keep the keys in the adult's pocket.

• Always lock the garden padlock to the gate even when open.  This way the padlock doesn’t disappear.

• Always lock the garden locks.  When in the garden, lock the locks to the gate even though the gate remains open.  

• When you leave, double check the lock is locked.

• Fungi (Mushrooms)

  • • Water the raised beds with straw.    They have fungi mycelia growing.  Look inside the straw.  The 'stuff' is the mycelia.

    • Keep these beds moist.  A good soak each week should be fine.  Remember though, too much water is no good.  

    • Treat the mushroom beds like a vegetable garden.  Water it the same.

    • This North Spore website explain the outdoor mushroom bed watering process in better detail!

• Garden Plants

  • • Use small watering cans and big watering cans.  Go from plant to plant.  Avoid students rushing and running.

    • If it is dry, plant will want more water.  If the leaves look sad, they want water.  Students tend to splash a little bit of water on top of the soil.  But the plants need a lot more.  Teach them to put a finger in the soil.  Is it dry?  Then more water needed.  Err on the side of more water without making a pond or muddy mess!

• Street Trees along the sidewalk in 'street tree beds'

  • • Water 15-20 gallons each week.

    • Use gallon jugs filled at the spigot.  Set up a system.  Perhaps assign two? students for filling up at the spigot.  Other students walk to the tree to water.  Rotate roles.  

    • Create posters so the community knows about the work you are doing.  Here is a Water Street Trees template.

• Benches, Picnic Table, Plastic Tree Stumps, and Raised Bed Sides

  • • Consider spray (use jet mode) to rinse off the surfaces of these garden items.  They can get dirty quite quickly from dust, birds, water splashing, and so on.  Who likes sitting on a dusty bench?  :) 

• Tips

  • • Try to water earlier in the morning.  This will prevent more water that will evaporate quickly during the hotter times of the day.

    • Remember to turn off the water spigot before leaving for the day.

    • Try to water all plants THOROUGHLY.  They will not drowned.  

    • Be gentle and (if using a hose) and not to spray too hard as to not cause soil erosion.  

    • Hose Nozzle/Sprayer: Use the "spray" option gently.  For smaller plants or seedlings, consider using the "mist" option. 

Science and Observation

• • • Use the garden nature exploration guides to have students observe, draw, write, and wonder about nature.  These natural exploration guides are at the bottom of this page too.

      • • TIP: You do not have to complete everything.  You also can spend multiple sessions introducing parts of the guide instead of all at once, which can be overwhelming.

    • PS 48 Garden and Nature Scavenger Hunt!

      • • Foster observational skills by 'looking closely' to find different living and non-living things in the garden space.

        • Learn English vocabulary about gardening tools and materials, plus different aspect of nature.

        • Use as an informal student interest survey by paying attention to what ignites student curiosity outdoors. 

    • Garden Hoop Investigation  

      • • Learn about living organisms and non living things by exploring the garden ground using a hula hoop.  

        • Draw and write about the different signs of nature you discover that you classify into nonliving things, decomposers, producers, and consumers.

        • See the Mr. Czarka or the school's physical education teachers for hula hoop access.

    • Tree Growth Ring Activity  

      • • Explore the age of a tree.  Read a information text about how trees grow each year, learning about weather along the way.  

        • Then explore tree trunk cookies (cross section or slice) to count the rings of yearly growth.  Draw and write to record your discovery.

        • See Mr. Czarka for tree cookies to use for this activity.  You can do this activity in the garden even.

    • Plant seeds.  

      • • Harvest vegetables (don’t worry if too early or too late).  It’s about the experience for students.  Not about being perfect.  

    • Plant seedlings and plants.

      • Ask me (Mr. Czarka) how.  I'll explain.  Consider only planting perennial plants that come back year to year.  But you can also plant annual plants as well that will die when the freezing weather returns.  It's a learning opportunity for students.

    • Observe closely.  Spark curiosity.

      • • What does a plant leaf look like?  How is it the same or different from other leaves?  What about the tree bark?  Or the soil?

        • Create detailed drawings of what is observed.  Use magnifying lens to look even closer!  Spark a conversation about wonderings and discoveries.

    • Dig in the soil.  Yes, for real.  

      • • Utilize the Soil Exploration Zone raised bed to explore the critical role soil plays in our lives.

        • Students get a kick out of discovering.  Let them lead.  They may find worms, rocks, historical human artifacts (bottle caps, etc.), decaying plants, and so on.  

        • Give them paper to draw.  Write.  Label.  The garden is always an opportunity to develop literacy skills.

    • Identify Trees in the Garden and Around the School Property

      • • NYC Parks has good information on street tree identification.

          • • Teach about leaf arrangement, size, shape, lobes (margins), and structure (simple vs compound), whether or not the technical language is used.  Get students to start seeing the diversity and wondering about the purpose.

        • Use the NYC Street Tree Guides at the bottom of the Garden Plant ID Guide page.

    • Access the Hunts Point Slave Burial Ground (HPSBG) Project science page for more!

      • • Lessons are available for using a compass and map, leaf pressing, leaf rubbing, and plant identification.

Literacy Ideas

• • • Learn outdoors.  

      • • Read.  Write.  Draw.  Foster oral language development.  Team building.  Connect to what you are teaching.

        • Here is literacy texts for the life cycle, planting, and cooking with blueberries bushes and the same for hardneck garlic.  Yum!

    • Create Garden Plant Interpretive Sign

      • • Thank you, Ms. Binuya and Ms. Benitez for creating this template that teaches descriptive writing using a variety of plant species adapted to what is currently in the garden.

        • Here are more examples of plant signage made by students that combines literacy (research, reading, and video analysis combined with writing and drawing).

        • Consider building on these ideas to add information like the plant labels seen at garden centers and nurseries, such as the following:

          • • plant name, culinary uses, amount of sunlight, mature plant size, how long to grow/harvest, watering requirements, if it's a perennial or annual plant, and so on.

• • • Create a tutorial video, audio, or text directions.  

      • • Garden Tasks

          • • Students become experts.  They teach the next class of students through their knowledge.  Here are some examples and ideas.

        • Science Tools and Nature Exploration Bags (develop for the Garden Website)

          • • Through hands on use of science tools, students become confident, learn English, and then can create a tutorial that teaches how to use the tools.

            • These videos can be placed on the Science Tools and Nature Exploration Bags pages.

    • Create a plant guide digitally and paper based (laminate for garden and water protection).

      • • Even if you don't know the 'right' name for the plants.  Really.  Model for students to create an agreed upon name.  "This is the pointy tipped purple flower.  We will call it 'Purple Tip.'"  Make the experience of learning about plants accessible.

        • Use the (free) app PictureThis to identify plants by photo.  NOTE: Click "cancel" when it asks you to pay.  You don't have to.

        • Here is an example of a plant guide created by PS 48 students in the past.  It can grow more and more extensive as more plants are found.  Don't forget...weeds are plants...

        • Here are some Plant Guide activities to do. 

    • Create a podcast (audio only or video).

      • • Use this Podcast Recording Sheet as a guide to have students use the garden to create topics to create a podcast.

        • Listen to podcasts.  Model creating stories.  

        • Use the iPad "Voice Recorder" app to only record audio.  Use the camera app in video mode to create a video.  Use other apps to put it all together!

        • Topic Ideas: Weather, Observations, Wonderings, Changes, Knowledge

    • Create garden signs.

      • • This can be as an art and literacy project.  Laminate the signs to explain the garden to the neighborhood.  Create allies and green space defenders around the school community.

    • What's Good in My Hood?

      • • Multi lesson unit that helps students think critically and assess aspects of their neighborhoods that are good as well as those that need improvement, through observation and data collection.  Created by NYRP

Math Ideas

• • • Measure the DBH of trees.  

    • Measure the length or perimeter or the area using grid paper) of leaves using objects or rulers.  

    • Identify shapes and patterns.  

    • Count objects or use objects to create math problems.  

    • Weight the mass of objects.  Or volume and capacity using the spigot and watering cans.

      • • Here is a sample lesson activity using the raised beds to explore and learn capacity and volume.

Art and Other Ideas

• • • Paint, draw, or create leaf rubbings.  Use the space as inspiration.

Useful Website Learning Activities and Resources

• NYRP has resources for everything from trees and environmental education to health and wellness

• Kids Gardening has interdisciplinary activities to help young minds grow using outdoor learning

• Green Beetz a free, ready-to-teach curriculum for 4th-7th graders about the modern food system, nutrition, and sustainability.  There are 3 modules: 

  • • • Module 1: The Food and The Environment

      • Module 2: Food & The Body

      • Module 3: Food & Society

• Food Detectives is an interactive learning standards-aligned workshop-in-a-box turns 4th graders into Food Detectives, one classroom at a time, learning about marketing, nutrition facts, and additives.