Gardening unit

A little milestone...we have done over 100 days of "schooltime" together!

The kiddos take turns marking off each day.

Gardening unit

I have to admit upfront that I don't have much of a green thumb...kinda brownish-green, but I keep trying & hoping for tomatoes, strawberries, and, this year, bell peppers.

The kiddos helped me plant many flowers this year & enjoyed it, so I decided to do a learning focus on gardening.  Mostly for learning new words & the life cycle of plants.  It has been fun!  We studied it a little longer than I planned, but that's okay.

Most of my materials, I printed off from Homeschool Creations and we have enjoyed learning through them!  

Almost all of our gardening related books came from the library.  I love that I can search and request books online, then pick them up whenever I have time!  That is a major advantage to living in a larger town!  We set out books on the shelves in the kitchen & on top of the toy shelves in the playroom.  The ones not displayed are kept in one orange tub so as to not let them get mixed up with all of our other books.

Our favorite books were "mortimer's first garden" and "flower garden."

Whenever possible, I try to combine a "field trip" that gives us some hands-on learning.  My grandparents were kind enough to show us around their vegetable garden and flower beds.

The kiddos each got to help plant a tomato seedling into a little pot!

They walked by the pond and down by the creek. 

My grandparents had put together a seed chart, which was neat!  They let us take it home with us for a reference sheet. 

My mom met us there with my sister's kiddos and we all toured the garden.  They have tomatoes, peppers, okra, peas and more.  It was fun! 

Group photos...my grandparents with the "wild bunch" & my mom and me with them. 

When we returned home, the kiddos planted marigolds in a pot I had ready.  They enjoyed squishing the dirt around the plants and watering them.  They all helped but I couldn't take a picture with dirty hands, so I snapped a few afterwards.  ;o)

 

Gardening is fun & we all have high hopes for some produce later in the summer!  Either from our potted plants or from my grandparents...haha!