School Community Garden: Taft Elementary

For those of you who are not aware of this, I hold a degree in Elementary Education with hopes of teaching some day!  I thoroughly enjoy learning and in turn have become passionate about guiding our youth to discover & explore the wonders of the world.  My teaching philosophy relies heavily on allowing children to learn in tactile and hands on ways.  A school garden can be beneficial in SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS!  The teachers I remember were the ones that gave us activities to harbor our learning.  One science teacher took us to the river to test the water, we learned about the water cycle in a very hands on way that I will never forget.  Now what I do not remember is the repetitive worksheets that memorized definitions that would later prove to meaningless, there wasn't any application.
I am not saying that current or past teaching methods are invalid, I am just excited to see a garden play a dedicated role in a child's academic curriculum.  A garden is sustainable.
I asked for feedback about school garden's on our FACEBOOK page, here were a few responses (hopefully I can share more soon)

KATE:
Fresh food, new physical activity in the fresh air, economical lessons, learn to be responsible and follow through, spark interest in science, use math to determine germination rate, try new foods, pride, a new skill...what's not positive about that?

KARLA:
Ditto that, plus the joy of eating something you helped to grow and tend! Some students try a new food because it was in their garden, and they like it! Also, start a compost pile, and see how helpful that is to the garden! Produce can be donated to the food bank, or used to help those in need local to the school. Lots of ideas here!

Please comment on this post and share your thoughts.

On Tuesday this week they held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Taft Elementary School Garden...They had an incredible array of student presentations as well as wonderful support from the community.
I am excited to visit the garden this summer to see it grow!

Here are some pictures from the ribbon cutting ceremony!
Click on the BUGS link to see the entire album.

From BUGS