The Educators' Spin On It

Learning Games and Activities

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Planting Cycads – South African Plants

Gardening with kids is a learning adventure. When I read Nadia's article on South African plants, I SMILED. These are MY kids favorite plants in our yard and we are in the U.S.A. It is a smaller world than we imagine sometimes! We have a female Sego Palm Cycad in the front of our home which sends off baby plants every year at the bottom and "seeds" at the top. My kids have even created their own names for the seeds. They harvest the seeds and use them in all sorts of outdoor pretend cooking ... Read more...

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Garden Music; Growing Instruments

Gardening with kids is a great way to get kids learning and making global connections. Yesterday, Nicollete shared with us an art activity that her kids did while gardening in Ecuador. Sometimes it is a powerful thing to realize that although we may have a great distance between us, kids and parents do many similar activities across the globe.   Today we have the talented writer and musician, Daria sharing ideas for growing your own musical instrument. My 4 year old and 7 ... Read more...

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Garden Signs

Literacy can find it's way into your garden learning in many ways. Today we have Lauren from Tutus and Tea Parties here to share with you her "spin" on garden markers. I just adore how it not only combines literacy, but also a little creativity and fine motor skills in the process of making garden signs as well. Kid Made Garden Signs We love anything that takes learning outside of the classroom and makes it hands on. Including your children in gardening creates so many lessons to teach ... Read more...

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Read in the Garden

Read and Explore in the Garden I am so excited to be here on The Educators Spin on it, and to take part in the Kids in the Garden series. As a lover of all things natural, I felt it would be an honor to share how we incorporate the garden into our living and learning. One of the most important things to me, is to show children how many wonderful things come from a garden. So before planting, grab a few books and enjoy reading together. This post contains Amazon affiliate links. ... Read more...

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Kids Garden Reading Activities

There are so many wonderful connections between reading and gardening. Sound surprising? Our guest writer, Jacquie Fisher, founder of Edventures with Kidsshares with us ways she connects the two. Not only is she an AMAZING recourse for things to do in Kansas City, she is a world culture, book loving, get your hands messy kind of mom who shares her adventures on her blog highlighting hands on experiences to support parents! Kids Garden Reading Activities One of our favorite things about ... Read more...

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Garden Science Experiments with Propagation

I am so excited to have Gailina here today at, The Educator's Spin On It, today sharing with you a learning experiment with propagating plants. We strongly believe that learning should be connected to the things we do every day.  Our household maintains a small backyard garden for numerous reasons; to teach patience, responsibility, and SCIENCE. Yes, gardening with your children can be a wonderful way to make academic subjects meaningful and real. Gailina is a language expert who is ... Read more...

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Garden Math Activity – Measurement

You can up your parenting game and take learning in the garden to a whole new level when you think "outside the classroom." Meaning, academics can (and should) be taught beyond the walls of the traditional classroom. As a parent, I believe it is my job to provide these opportunities for my children to interact with the world in a meaningful way. Gardening with kids is the perfect time to make these common core connections. Of course, this activity would be great for classroom ... Read more...

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Garden Science – Worms and Compost

Kids in the garden are learning about WORMS and COMPOSTING today! Join us this month for articles all about gardening with children. Our special guest, Sandi Purdell Lewis, kindergarten teacher and garden ambassador, shares with us her classroom adventures.  She is the author of Rubberboots and Elf shoes, a kindergarten blog with all sorts of adventures including fairy garden activities, learning about famous art, and all sorts of sensory bin ideas!   I hope her article will inspire you ... Read more...

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Garden Math: Counting and Number Sense

Learning and growing occur in our backyard garden every day.  Math is a great academic connection and we are fortunate to have a guest post from a fellow hands-on, play loving, cultural mum of 2 young children here with us today.   As part of the KIDS IN THE GARDEN series, the author of "The Fairy and the Frog," shares how she encourages her children to recognize numbers, count found objects, and record their findings in a journal in this easy-to-do garden activity. Garden ... Read more...

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Garden Cooperative with Kids

Kids in the Garden - Learning and Growing cannot take place without space. Many of us may not have enough space in our yards (if we even have them) for a garden bed. For some people, container gardening may be a great start, but when you have caught the gardening bug, there is a need for MORE! What can you do? When space in the soil and sunlight is limited, a community garden plot may be an option for your planting needs. A community garden is an area of land that is shared and gardened by a ... Read more...

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