Due to Covid-19 Restrictions, TWGC is unable to meet with our second grade class at this time. Stay tuned for new photos and projects when we are able to resume.
We did visit the BEES- just before they closed the school! Dave Gover, Lori Gover’s husband, is a beekeeper and gave a presentation about bees to the entire second grade class in the library. After his program, we went back to our classroom of Garden BEES, reviewed his lesson and then we had the students make butterfly favors for our cancelled convention. The BEES were very creative and enjoyed the activity. We will keep them until the meeting is held (probably at end of August). We also checked out our garden and the peach tree we put in for Arbor Day. All of which are doing well. We may not be able to meet with the BEEs again this school year. We just hope that everyone is staying safe and maybe getting a lot of gardening done.
Our February meeting fell the day before Valentine’s Day, so we had a very special agenda for our Garden BEES! First, we reviewed last month’s lessons. Ms. Ann created a unique Bird log, “the Birds I See” with pictures of birds found in North Carolina. We asked the students which ones they saw on or near their bird feeders. Their answers were quite interesting. Happily they did remember the state bird and the differences between male and female cardinals and the different size and shapes of bluebirds. Ms. Sylvia brought individual baggies of supplies so each BEE could make a Valentine card. And what would Valentine’s Day be without flowers? After a brief Floral Design 1-2-3, the children made beautiful arrangements. First, they placed greens from our yards into the chopped-up oasis in recycled mugs and then they finished by adding beautiful flowers. Each design was special, and we know their parents appreciated these gifts. The kids also had the horticulture corner where Ms. Mary and Ms. Eileen reviewed how to plant seeds and the BEES planted snap peas. We also were pleased to see the daffodils which we planted in November were blooming. So, all in all, we had a very bzzzy and productive meeting of the Garden BEES.
Here are some photos of our recent visit on January 15, 2020 to our second-grade class of Oaks Road Academy. We presented a lesson about birds specifically why they are important in our world and how to identify different birds by color, shape and size. The northern cardinal was emphasized as it is the state bird. The cardinal is the state bird of 8 other states. We taught that all birds need help in the winter to survive and so we had the BEES make birdfeeders from pinecones gathered from local forest areas, cemeteries and back yards. Lard was slathered onto the cone and then the cone was rolled in bird seed. The BEES really enjoyed this project as noted in these photos. We hung 4 feeders on a tree in the playground area so all the students could watch for visitors. Our students were given the assignment to keep a log as to which birds and how many came to their feeders.
Paula Hartman, Lori Gover. Carol Letellier and Eileen Griswold
What a bzzzy December meeting we enjoyed with the Garden BEES at Oaks Road Academy on Dec. 8. We used an onion to demonstrate how bulbs grow from the inside out and then proceeded to plant daffodils in their garden. The paper whites which we gave the teacher last month suffered from too much water, so we reinforced the lesson not to overwater plants. A surprise visitor accompanied us this month with gifts for all the children. Ms. Gail Krielow, Past President of TWGC, spent the fall knitting a hat, mittens and a scarf for each of the BEES. How excited and thankful the children were. There was an array of colors throughout the classroom. While groups were outside planting bulbs, we reinforced our lessons from last month- ie Arbor Day and recycling by distributing Word searches and work sheets.
We also mentioned again the National Forest Service Poster contest about Woodsy Owl and hope the students will practice designing and coloring an entry by mid-January. Remember, “Lend a Hand, care for the Land’ is Woodsy’s motto.
Then we all came together to hear the legend of the poinsettia, a traditional Christmas plant. In addition, instructions on the care of the poinsettia were reiterated as we surprised all the BEES with their very own plant! Thanks to Lowe’s who donated them. So we hope that the plants and the knitted attire arrived home safe and sound. In January, the focus of our visit will be birds of North Carolina. Stay tuned to what we have planned. If interested in joining us to work with these second graders, please contact Carol or Paula.
The children will plant the seeds in the spring.
October 2019 Youth Gardener Meeting
We had a slow start this year as we had a new teacher and classroom to establish before we met the children. We finally went to Oaks Road Academy on Friday, Oct. 4. What a great group of 25 eager second graders! But did you know there is preparation work to be done before this initial visit? First, we needed to get the fall garden established by picking up and amending the gardens with 1600 pounds of compost from our local landfill in Tuscarora. At our first meeting, we introduced seeds and how they grow. The BEES planted radish and spinach seeds, in addition to broccoli, collards and lettuce plants. In the wildflower area, they sprinkled seeds from NCDOT plus some poppy seeds. The BEES are expected to maintain the gardens until we return next month.
Environment and habitat were the words of the day. So, we introduced our mascot, Woodsy Owl, combining his motto of “Lend A Hand, Care for the Land” with the need to recycle and reuse to help the world around us. For a craft activity, the BEES made Woodsy puppets which they seemed to really enjoy (as witnessed by the photos). Our visit was very bzzzy as always and if you would like to join us, we return on Nov. 1. We will be introducing Arbor Day by planting a tree plus making decorations for the hospital tree. We’ll also squeeze in a lesson about bulbs and plant daffodils. Call Carol Letellier or Paula Hartman if interested! Happy Fall! The Garden Ladies: Frances Eder, Eileen Griswold, Lori Gover, Ann Hall, Sylvia Cotton, and Kathy Perretta.
TWGC reaches out every month with a visit to our second grade “Bees” at Oak Road Academy. Teaching the children about plants, trees, vegetables, nature and the environment. TWGC members help the children with ongoing projects such as: planting a vegetable garden and later enjoying the fruits of their labors, planting a tree for Arbor Day, learning about the National Forestry Service and their mascot Smokey the Bear, to craft projects the kids get to take home. A lovely healthy snack is provided and everyone thoroughly enjoys their time together!
