The Garden as a Classroom

BY LORI MOTAL, Lower School Teacher

At The Joy School, we are intentional about both working and playing hard, and this is never more obvious than in our garden spaces. For many years, we have utilized our outdoor spaces on campus and in the community as an extension of the good work we do in the classroom. Whether you are walking through our butterfly garden, picking squash or tomatoes in our vegetable garden, stopping to smell the flowers in our flower beds, or enjoying the collaborative work done with our neighbors to restore Bell Park several blocks away, our students' hard work and creativity are always on display.

I have had the joy of planning, designing, and maintaining The Joy School gardens since the opening of our current school building in 2013. I have seen the gardens grow and flourish through many storms and seasons while teaching gardening electives, using our garden spaces as an extension of my lower school classroom. From planning and designing garden spaces to purchasing supplies and engaging in hands-on cultivation and harvesting, the practical lessons learned by our student gardeners are numerous. Most importantly it is the real-life lessons that continue to impact my students long after they have mainstreamed. When former students come by for a visit, they are usually just as eager to see the impact of their work in the garden as they are to see me!

Academic Learning in the Garden

It was students who did all the research, planning, purchasing, and building of the raised beds we used to create our garden spaces. Many math lessons on perimeter and area naturally taught themselves. Then, when it was time for the upper elementary students to learn volume, we had the perfect hands-on activity, which included calculating the amount of soil needed to fill the garden beds. The very next year, our 2nd-grade classes assisted in the redesign, purchasing, and filling of the new beds after a failed crop.

Our campus butterfly garden is home to many different butterfly species, which several students observe and record just for fun. Several years ago, our garden became a registered Monarch Waystation through Monarch Watch, an educational, conservation and research program. Through monitoring monarch activity in the garden, students learn about the lifecycle of butterflies and other insects, as well as seeing firsthand the food chain in action. No one enjoys the lessons learned when butterfly predators invade, but everyone goes through these heartbreaks a little better for them; understanding the power of resilience and time, much like it is at Joy.

Students have also practiced using microscopes while learning to test a monarch butterfly for OE (ophryocystis elektroscirrha), a parasite that often plagues monarchs. Geography lessons teach themselves as students learn about the monarch migration and the multiple generations it takes for them to migrate clear across North America and back, before overwintering in Mexico.

Students have planned out plant placement both in the vegetable garden and butterfly garden areas after researching a variety of butterfly and plant species native to Houston. This includes monarchs, queens, pipevine swallowtails, giant swallowtails, black swallowtails, and gulf fritillaries. Students have learned about host plants and which species prefer what, and then they’ve watched in real time as the garden has become home to each of these species of butterflies.

The garden is a welcome inspiration for our language arts projects. Many students have written nature and acrostic poems based on the observations in the garden. Others have created design plans and put together research presentations on gardening-related topics.

Using the produce of our labors is also part of it! In past vegetable gardens, we’ve harvested numerous fruits and veggies and made our own salsa, sautéed the broccoli, cauliflower, and zucchini; and we’ve made salads. Our student gardeners practice following recipes, measurements, and conversions, - and (our parents' favorite part) those picky eaters, will try something new because they grew it.

Along with our outdoor garden, our students were gifted a Tower Garden by Freida Hale, grandmother of one of our nature-loving students. TJS now has an indoor hydroponic garden system, which teaches students about balancing the pH levels to keep the plants growing and healthy. Typically, we grow a variety of lettuces, greens like rainbow chard, and herbs in the Tower Garden. Much of it is used to feed the 3 tortoises here on campus.: my classroom friend, Snapper, as well as April O’Shell (Ms. Farah’s class), and Tuesday (Mr. Becker’s class).

Social Emotional Learning in the Garden

While the academic lessons learned through gardening are powerful and plentiful, the social-emotional learning that results from time the students spend in the garden is equally invaluable. Many students who struggle to regulate their energy levels in a classroom often learn the most from the gardening process. Others who struggle to control their bodies in a classroom are often the most successful gardeners.

Movement is so important for many of our students who struggle with self-regulation. The garden gives them space for movement that isn’t always available in the classroom. If staying in one spot in the classroom is not possible, students tend to thrive in the garden because they can move around more freely and get the input their bodies need. Often, those students who are frustrated with frequent redirection in an academic classroom setting can shine in the garden classroom, where their natural strengths are often highlighted, allowed to be used, and strengthened. There’s also scientific evidence that digging in dirt increases endorphins, making kids overall happier. This then results in better attention spans and more learning. We see evidence of this firsthand, repeatedly. The freedom to move, and work serves as a reset, often changing the trajectory of a child’s whole day.

Working in the garden gives our students ownership in making “their” campus better. There is a sense of pride every one of them feels, no matter how big or small their contribution may be. The team building and sense of belonging the garden cultivates is evidenced year after year as new students build on the legacy that former students have left behind.

Life lessons unfold before our eyes as students are faced with trial and error, perseverance, problem solving, teamwork, and tons of patience during every gardening encounter.

Community Service Learning in the Garden

This school year, the fourth graders began a partnership with our Montrose neighbors and the City of Houston Parks and Recreation department to help with improvements in Bell Park at the corner of Milford Street and Montrose. We have enjoyed working alongside Post Oak High School, one of our neighbors, in helping transform portions of the park space into a large pollinator garden. Our students worked hard on figuring out how the fountain functions and the best ways to clean and maintain it. Monitoring the fountain is one way we can contribute to the partnership.

Enchanted Forest, a local plant nursery, donated several milkweed plants along with additional native flowering plants for the project, ensuring we will meet the requirements for the park to be designated as a Monarch Waystation through Monarch Watch. My favorite part of this whole process has been the people working on this project from every generation. One of my students said it best, “Together we are making our community and the world a better place, one plant at a time!”

Students have absolutely learned the importance and satisfaction that comes from being an active community member and giving back to our local community. Every student who worked on this project has expressed personal pride and community ownership in the park improvements.

For more information about how The Joy School unlocks every student's unique learning potential, visit our website or attend a parent tour.