How I Managed to Actually Garden With My Students This Year (Successfully!)

During the height of the pandemic last year, when it was spring and we couldn’t go anywhere or do anything except yard work, I decided I wanted to (try to) get into gardening.🌱

Despite coming from a long line of green thumbs AND my first-ever job being at my grandparents’ greenhouses, I am not a naturally gifted gardener. I would, in fact, say I am a very gifted plant killer 😂

I had no idea where to begin or what to even really do.

Leah and I started out by turning an old sink into a planter and popping in some lettuce from our local farm, but a next step? We had NO idea!

And, as it turns out, I’m not the only one who struggles with gardening!

I was kind of surprised to find out, when asking friends for (virtual) help, a lot of us are not pro-gardeners haha.

A lot of our parents ARE… but it seems that we didn’t really pick up all the skills through osmosis? Weird.

The instructions on the backs of seed packets are helpful for sure, as is Googling “easiest plants to grow”, but there just wasn’t really anything out there that I could find that would let Leah and I try some things out, stick to the basics, and have a clear, tried & true plan.

I’m not really known for being a manifester…

But I do believe that everything is figureoutable (Marie Forleo came up with that term — definitely check her out if you haven’t already!), and I knew that there HAD to be a way for me to exist in this world (Covid or not) with a reasonably-sized, living garden with a few varieties of fun plants.

While I was dreaming big, I was also hoping for a way to transfer some of that knowledge to my grade one students the following year (I knew by then that I’d be in grade one, and that plants are part of the living things outcomes I have to cover).

And, happily, one day as I was spending hours scrolling Facebook for no real reason, I found it!

I found out about Kids Growing City and their Oasis Box program. I found out about it in a business Facebook group I happen to be part of, and I knew it was exactly the gardening-hand-holding I was looking for!

It’s a super cool subscription box created to help parents/teachers/people like me haha.

Basically, each month since signing up, we get a box in the mail with gardening tips, seeds, activities, and more. There are super-simple instructions, and most of the supplies you already have around the house, like berry containers and red solo cups (the only other thing we’ve had to buy separately is potting soil).

So far, Leah & I have successfully grown basil, marigolds, radishes, and lettuce, and I’ve taken a few of the boxes to school to do with my students.

These little monthly boxes are perfect for home, school, or both! I’m actually going to be making seed bombs with my class this month, which I’m super pumped about. We are going to plant marigolds for Mother’s Day with Leah’s leftover seeds, too.

Here are some radishes we planted in the fall: 

(Who knew that radishes do well in the chilly fall NS weather?!)

If you have outcomes about plant needs & living things as well, but have no idea how to plant anything more complicated than beans, this program might be just as helpful for you as it has been for me.

There’s a TON of stuff inside each box, including seeds, instructions, colouring sheets, a collector sticker, and other fun surprises like games.

Here’s a peek inside of one:

The downside-with-an-upside, though, is that the program isn’t open for registration all the time. 

In fact, doors are going to be closing for this round pretty soon — on April 15.

I am excited about it in some ways, because I know that by focusing on only having doors open a few times a year, the people behind Oasis Box will have more time to come up with great ideas for us members (I do the same for my membership, and I can confirm that it makes a huge difference!).

But for you, that means if you want to join and it’s already past April 15, you’ll have to hop on the waitlist until doors are open instead.

Which is okay! They’ll keep you informed on when you can sign up.

And, if you’re already a great gardener & are just looking for some worksheets and activities en français to help supplement your plants lessons…

Don’t forget that I’ve got my « Tout au sujet des plantes » activity pack available on TPT.

It doesn’t come with seeds or much gardening help, but it will help your students learn things like plant needs, plant life cycles, etc. haha

Here’s a link to CLICK and check it out on TPT. It’s one of my best-sellers!

And, if you’re not totally sure about Oasis Box, they have a free herbs kit you can try before you commit to the subscription box. You can check that out HERE.

FINALLY, I put together a little plants-themed colour-by-code worksheet for my students earlier this year. There wasn’t really enough to it to post anywhere, but you can grab a copy of it if you want via this blog post.

Just CLICK HERE, add your name & email to the form, and I’ll send it your way.