Christine Gall, a hands-on garden educator with students from kindergarten through college, gives quick, fun previews, sample lessons, and activities (along with the occasional blooper) of the content in some of our favorite KidsGardening curriculum books. You can find KidsGardening curriculum in our online store.
In the Weeds with Christine: Episode 1 - Soil
In the first episode of In the Weeds with Christine, she demonstrates a simple activity from KidsGardening's latest resource, Digging Into Soil. This curriculum has been written to help educators use a garden program to teach students about soil, with links to Next Generation Science Standards. The lessons can be adapted for middle school ages too. The goal of these companion resources is to cultivate a new generation that is inspired to make collective choices that preserve and improve existing soil resources.You can download your own copy of this high school soil science curriculum for $5.
In the Weeds with Christine - Episode 2: Seeds on the Move
Christine dives into Books in Bloom, and shares a fun, creative lesson about the different ways seeds travel, which includes an opportunity for students to design their own seeds, taken from the chapter featuring A Fruit is a Suitcase for Seeds. Books in Bloom** offers garden lesson plans and activities for seventeen different children's books, and includes Common Core standards for literacy, as well as Next Generation Science Standards.
In the Weeds with Christine - Episode 3: Leaf Lessons
There are still lots of fun lessons to be had in the fall garden! Christine has some ideas for examining leaves with your students - either outdoors in the garden or playground, or indoors, with a windowsill or light garden. You can find more interesting lessons on leaves, and other fun indoor gardening activities, in Grow Lab: Activities.**
In the Weeds with Christine - Episode 4: Regional Eating
Christine shares her favorite features from Growing Food (the QeESTA method!), and lifts up a lesson on year-round regional eating. The Growing Food** curriculum book strives to have students understand the answers to the question, "How does nature provide us with food?"
In the Weeds with Christine - Episode 5: Math in the Garden
Christine LOVES Math in the Garden** - and she's sure you will too. Your students will use hands-on methods to explore concepts of numbers & operations, measurement, geometry & pattern, and data analysis - in your school garden!
In the Weeds with Christine - Episode 6: Garden Planning
Christine shares a hands-on lesson plan for garden planning with your students, using one of our most popular resources, The Growing Classroom!** Developed in partnership with LifeLab, this book contains over 150 garden-based activities, including this one on garden planning and mapping.
In the Weeds with Christine - Episode 7: Plant Parts We Eat
Christine loves to taste test with students - and many times they don't know the botany of the plants we eat! From seeds to stems to ancillary buds, explore all the plant parts we eat using the fantastic curriculum, Botany on Your Plate**!
In the Weeds with Christine - Episode 8: Rainbow Chips
Looking to for a fun way to get kids engaged and exploring a garden or outdoor space? Christine shares one of her favorite methods, from an early childhood curriculum book written by our friends at LifeLab: Sowing the Seeds of Wonder**!
In the Weeds with Christine - Episode 9: In the Rain
Plants need water to grow! Christine shares a fun and easy rain gauge activity for your classroom, from the book Garden Adventures**. Save it for a rainy day, or have students check it daily and chart the results.
In the Weeds with Christine - Episode 10: Food Systems
Christine heads to a local farm to explore a lesson on how food travels from the ground to your plate. Our book "Farm to Table & Beyond" is an inquiry-based science and nutrition curriculum, linking food and the environment.
In the Weeds with Christine - Episode 11: Symmetry
Use the garden to teach math! Christine shares a lesson on identifying symmetry in leaves and other natural materials, from the book Math in the Garden.
In the Weeds with Christine - Episode 12: Tree Observations
Christine shares a lesson in observation, perfect to start the school year and continue as a year-long project, from the crowd-favorite book The Growing Classroom.
In the Weeds with Christine - Episode 13: Worm Composting
Christine shows off her worms! Vermicomposting in the classroom or at home is a great way to introduce kids (and adults) to the hard work of worms. Learn more in the early childhood curriculum Sowing the Seeds of Wonder.
In the Weeds with Christine - Episode 14: Soil Ribbons
Christine shares a hands-on way to learn about the texture of your soil. This lesson from Digging into Soil is a great way to dive deep into the importance of soil with your high school students.
In the Weeds with Christine - Episode 15: Seed Dissection
Christine demonstrates how to dissect a lima bean, and what your students will find inside! This garden lesson plan is from the Grow Lab: Activities curriculum, which is designed to go along with a set of grow lights in your home or classroom.
In the Weeds with Christine - Episode 16: Books in Bloom
Christine walks through the garden curriculum Books in Bloom, and highlights a garden planning activity from the chapter featuring the book "In the Garden with Dr. Carver."
