I am involved in an after school program where I teach basic permaculture gardening to 3-6 graders. I only have them at school for an hour each week in actual gardening classes. I teach a class on Tues and Thursday. Its very difficult to accomplish all the goals in that short period of time. I must have 2 lessons plans prepared each class. One for good weather and one for bad. Here are an example of things I did in bad weather. I introduced vermaculture during the winter months. The kids love the worms. So we composted all winter in our worm hut. We learned about the soils web of life. I invented games assigning each one a character to become in that web. Example one was organic composting material while others were bacteria, mold, fungus, mold mite, earthworm ect. They each held a piece of yarn of the corresponding food providing character. forming the web of life as they all stood in their inter connecting positions. If their food source died they then had to fall dead too. This really helped the kids understand how the food web worked.
On the first day of class I brought in a garbage bag full of trash. Which contained many plastic bottles cardboard, news papers and kitchen scrapes. I poured it out on the floor asked the kids what I had just dumped out. Of course all said trash. All winter we turned that trash into resources building garden themed items. I have a month left and we have used all those items. We used many 2 liter plastic bottles to winter sow seeds. We used some to build SIP planters. My point is there is much that can be taught in the winter. They have learned about hugekultur, wicking beds, we just received a donation of a table top aquaponic system.
As for the summer break my home connects the school ground where I have set up a permaculture garden that they and their family can come. Seeing how they too can grow a non till garden without purchasing equipment. I am building my own aquaponic system for this summer. My students and neighbor hood kids are welcome to join me in my garden this summer. For those that feel a program like this would be beneficial . I am not a teacher. I am a retired person on a very limited income. I actually go in the whole financially by doing this class. But it is important I feel. I tell the kids I'm too old to change the world. But they aren't. They can change the world they can make it better.
