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"Old People Like You Have Tricked Me Before"

Friday, January 20, 2012 | Filed under Student Behavior , Social Engineering

…said by a 3^rd grade student after being told by me that the FBI eats all the dead birds and squirrels on the roads and highways - of course I was thinking of the fungus, bacteria and invertebraes as the decomposers, he was thinking of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; nothing like cognitive dissonance to bring attention to what one is facilitating with students. There were quizzical looks by other students as they devoured (so to speak) the context of what was being disseminated. And so it is fun science facts shared with students that seems to instill ...

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Are You Ready To “Dig In” This Spring?

Wednesday, January 18, 2012 | Filed under Volunteering , Environmental Stewardship , School Garden Installation , Educators , Community , Family Activities , REAL Supporters

On behalf of the REAL School Gardens' team, we wish to thank all of our volunteers for helping us create learning gardens that raise hope, spark imaginations and connect children to nature.

Volunteers keep our gardens - and the children who learn in them - growing!

REAL School Gardens is proud to work with a diverse volunteer pool and many dedicated partners, including educators, parents, area business partners and community groups. We are also grateful to our elementary school partners for helping us reach out to their communities. Please consider continuing to share your time and talents ...

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An Ode to Compost

Friday, January 13, 2012 | Filed under Environmental Stewardship , Fine Arts

When Mr. V. was asked to “find a poem about compost,” his search brought him to the spiceoflife blog on gardenguides.com.

We just finished building a new bin in our office garden, and feel Robert has done well to capture our composter hearts:

Ode to Compost

The day is warm, still young and bright.
I'm out of work while still daylight!
I rush back home to check my bin
and see what sort of shape it's in.

I grab my fork and lift the lid
To see what time and hard work did.
I've thrown in leaves, ...

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Learning Garden Design Competition at Charles Rice Learning Center

Wednesday, January 11, 2012 | Filed under Volunteering , School Garden Installation , School Garden Design , Community

The winners of the Charles Rice Learning Center learning garden design competition last night were impressive! Jaylon (3rd Grade), Caleb (4th Grade), and Harper Elizabeth (5th Grade) won the top 3 prizes. They are very creative students, and they are outstanding public speakers!

Over 50 people attended the Design and Dine event - it was a great mix of creative teachers and administration, involved parents and community members, energetic students and commited supporters like JPMorgan Chase and The Brickman Group. This new outdoor classroom was also made possible through the support of United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and the Suzy Peacock Friendship Circle donors.

We will ...

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"Excuse Me, But Science Is Disgusting"

Wednesday, January 04, 2012 | Filed under Student Behavior , Science

A fine day was recently had outdoors at Holiday Heights Elementary School, instructing 2^nd grade students in the ways of mechanical energy by using a hand trowel to remove weeds. A hand trowel is the combination of two simple machines, a wedge and lever working together to make the work of weeding easier. The beauty of the trowels mechanics is in the ease of the use of force to perform a push or a pull to accomplish the needed task of weeding.

Often students ask “What is a weed?” I think that Ralph Waldo Emerson answered ...

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