In Beverly Hills, the spacious homes are surrounded by beautiful lawns. As a general rule, the regular arrival of a lawn care crew insures maintenance of each impressive front, side and back yard. In fact, most homeowners in Los Angeles County pay someone to cut their grass and do the bulk of their gardening. As a result, many of the children in that County have little opportunity to dig in a garden’s soil.
Within the past fifteen years, some of the schools in a municipality that is adjacent to the City of Los Angeles have tried to address the students’ lack of familiarity with the joy that comes from watching plants grow. Those schools have chosen to put a small garden on the school’s campus. This effort has altered the landscaping around a number of sites where elementary school children attend classes.
The landscapes around those facilities now contain a small plot where flowers, vegetables and herbs are emerging from the ground. The presence of those lots makes it possible for the instructors to introduce an added bit of hands on science to the curriculum. That introduction should help to ignite an interest in learning within more of the young learners.
Those who witness the emergence of a flower, a plant or even a blade of grass frequently have a number of questions. If a child seeks answers to such questions, he or she is sure to be guided to the proper resource. That typical series of events points to one of the ways that school gardens can help to fire up an interest in learning.
Moreover, a packet of seeds is sure to contain printed matter. A child can be encouraged to read that printed matter. Sometimes, too, a seed packet contains a map. That map provides instructors with an additional way to connect education to a section of growing greenery.