"How Does Your Garden Grow?"

Junior Master Gardener

In the spring of 1999 Monica Donaldson, a language arts teacher, received a grant from the "Texas Agricultural Extension Service". We began our JMG pilot program with the help of Shelby Touchy a volunteer Coordinator with the Department of Horticulture, at Texas A&M University. Robert Roach (science), Daniel Miller (math) and Paulette Dukerich (applied science and technology) are the other support teachers. This spring (2000) we have taken the project one step further. We have added an internet resource section to our unit and the students are helping to develop the pages. We hope to have this project "grow" in size each year. We also are adding a "Learning Through The Arts" component with our art department, Elaine Wilkins and Pete Fuller. It is part of their "Grounds for Learning" project.

The following is about the program from the JMG teacher guide.

Program Pilot Study

This unit is composed of activities, projects and background information to allow you to lead a group of children through the process f planning, planting, maintaining and harvesting vegetables from a vegetable garden. It is a Level I unit, intended for children in grades 3-5, or ages 8-10. At the end of the project your students will have completed the unit activities as part of the process of developing their group and individual gardening projects.

Activities

The hands-on activities in this project are designed to provide a basic working knowledge of concepts and skills surrounding vegetable gardening. These activities include material n plant growth and development, relevant information regarding soil and water as it relates to the vegetable garden, insects that might come across in their gardens as well as applicable information about environmental horticulture. In this way, the activities highlight learning opportunities that occur as part of the natural garden cycle while supporting curriculum content required by the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

Individual Gardening Project Requirements

Each student is required to help develop and maintain a small area of garden space as an individual or with a partner. The minimum space needed is three square feet or a comparable container space. Students can use their individual garden to get creative. They can use theme to build their garden around, or they can plant some old favorites. The only requirement for their individual garden is that it include at least three different types of plants, and a marker identifying the theme and/or types of plants along with the student's name.

Group Gardening Project Requirements

The group garden is the main project of this unit, which the students create together. A minimum of one square foot per child or a comparable container space is needed for this project. Garden planting is incorporated as one of the activities in this unit, called Paper Towel Gardening. Students ill e able to experience the development of three different types of crops, roots, leaves, and fruits. In addition, each student should keep a Garden Journal. In their journal students will make observations, record data, and draw pictures. Their journals will record the events in their garden, and will provide an assessment tool for evaluation.