Teahing the Teachers

Howdy, 

Last week was week 5 of my internship and I got to spend part of it traveling. On Tuesday, Lisa and I traveled to Brenham ISD to do a training with some of the teachers across the school district.

This was a really great learning and teaching experience. Not only did I get to learn more about JMG but I also got to communicate with the teachers and share my opinions with them. The group we had at this training was very small with only about 5 teachers, but they all wanted to be there. It was truly amazing to see teachers so hungry for the knowledge about JMG and how they could intertwine it into their school curriculum.  Not only did we share ideas with them, but we showed them how easily these activates could be done so they could see how non-threatening the activities really were.  I could just tell that the teachers were thinking "I can do this, I don't know anything about gardening but I can do this!"  That is what training is all about, right? Giving people the tools to accomplish something they may not have been able to do before. 

I learned during this training that a lot of times the teachers simply do not think they are knowledgeable enough to teach children about gardening. The activities in the Teacher/Leader guide of the JMG Handbook not only allows the teacher to teach the student but teach themselves as well. The concern of funding for the actual handbooks and the teacher guide or having access to materials to do activities came up in conversation. This prompted us to have a discussion on how JMG can get the whole community involved in projects. Teachers are always searching for parental support, but a program like this could allow companies around town to donate supplies or even allow the school district to develop a relationship with their county extension office.

During the training Lisa spoke to them about all the different aspects of JMG. Not only does JMG cover gardening but there is a curriculum for Wildlife, Nutrition, and even a second level for kids in grades 6-8. My favorite part was seeing the teachers get involved in the activities that we brought as examples.

Here are some of the activities we did:

Know and Show Sombero 

For this activity, the teachers had to create a hat out of newspaper and decorate it with all the things a plant needs to grow without discussing it with anyone else. They then had to share what was on their hat with the rest of the group. They all got really creative and made some really great hats to share. 

Another activity we did was called a "Grow Card"

This is an activity that allows teachers to use all those left over construction paper scarps that kids love to throw away. They do this be blending the paper with water till it is soupy, then pour it out over mesh to squeeze the water out. All you have to do after that is sprinkle any kind of flat seed on top and set it out to dry. You can then cut it into any shape you want and give it to someone, all they have to do is bury it in the soil and water it. How cool is that? Recycling, showing someone you care, and growing a plant all at the same time. If that doesn't preach how much of a plant nerd I am, then I don't know what does! 


During the training we even traveled outside, in the blazing Texas heat, to an outdoor learning center. Here the teachers learned to make their own bug aspirators and measure a tree using only a pencil, a person, and a measuring tape.I spoke a little in one of my first posts about how the lack of teacher participation and how it has caused a decline in horticulture education in my very own community. This training was a real booster of hope and I am so excited to see how JMG in Brenham schools takes off. The teachers even offered to let me come back and use them for trail runs of any future activities we create! Talk about great participation!

In other news: 

I am so excited to announce that I FINALLY finished editing the video of Mr. Cain singing a really awesome gardening song.  Check it out here: http://jmgkids.us/goingfullcircle/ 

AND, Mr. Cain has officially started blogging for the JMG website which you can find here: http://jmgkids.us/blog/

Hopefully you get inspired by one of his posts, and please share it with all of your friends with children or teachers to know!  


Before I go: 
I'd like to again thank all the people who have taken the time to read this blog and laugh out all of my terrible plant puns! I get a lot of really great compliments on everything I've said which makes me very happy. Also, a big shout out to the teachers of Brenham ISD for baring the heat and being such wonderful examples of teachers who truly want to teach their children! 


I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July! Don't forget to wear sunscreen, because I will not be held parsley responsible for your sunburn! 


Thanks & Dig'Em, 

Hallie