Gardening in Kindergarten

Most teachers do the obligatory bean seed in a Styrofoam cup each spring as a way to learn about plants. There is nothing wrong with that but I really think you can do so much more with gardening in the classroom. Growing plants in the classroom AND in a concrete playground with no shade presents some challenges. Each school and classroom have their own limitations. Some teachers are in rooms with no windows or no sinks with running water. I sympathize because I've certainly had ups and downs.

I like to start off gardening with seed exploration. The students often collect apple, pepper, orange seeds from their snacks. I would also recommend collecting seeds from flowers in the fall. I am a seed hoarder so I have many seeds at home that I can bring in to put out on a tray for children to examine, compare and discuss. 

I am a big fan of starting veggies and flowers from seed but doing so presents a few problems. Timing is important but also your local climate and weather can affect the success of starting seeds. I make the mistake of starting seeds too early almost every year because I get so excited about spring arriving. Seedlings need a good light source or they get spindly and weak. In this picture I had students filling a large pot to plant spinach seeds.

The seeds did grow but because I had them indoors too long, the minute I brought them outside into the full sun, they shriveled up and died. It was very upsetting!

Before our parent council bought us a planter, we grew a lot of plants in plastic pots that the parents donated. I ended up having to bring these plants in and out each day when the spring weather was unpredictable. It was a lot of work, but the plants got direct sunlight all day and exposure to the wind and elements helped to strengthen their stalks. 

A few years ago the Early Childhood Educator I work with led the students in planting lettuce, beets and radishes in our newly installed planter. We had a warm spring and were able to sow the seeds outdoors in early April. By June the students were harvesting and eating radishes and lettuce! Beets take quite awhile to grow and need a cold snap before they can be harvested.

Other ideas:

One year I experimented with bulbs. We tried growing them in a variety of mediums (rocks, soil, water) and the students observed the results. I like these glass pots that I found at a second-hand store. It allows the students to see the roots. 

Tips: 

• Ask parents to donate supplies or Canadian Tire money so you aren't spending your own money on this venture
• If you don't have good lighting in your room, ask another teacher if you can borrow their window sill or use window sills in other parts of the school 
• Talk to your students about protecting the plants at recess! Children often cannot resist digging in dirt and this will disturb delicate seedlings. I once had to re-plant carrot seeds three times because of this! 
• Make friends with your school custodian! Gardening with soil is very messy and the dirt can stain floors
• Get a wagon or dolly to help you move pots in and out when the weather is unpredictable
• Get children involved as much as possible with watering, weeding and harvesting
• Pay attention to germination timelines listed on the seed packages. Some vegetables and flowers grow faster. We've had success with Nasturtiums, Cosmos, beans, radishes and lettuce.
• Sunflowers take FOREVER to bloom. Start them very early indoors and move them outside once the weather is warm. They might bloom by the end of June if you are lucky, but chances are the students won't see flowers until they are return in September.