I was recently part of a discussion of educators from all walks of life – new, novice, elementary, secondary, higher education – and the topic turned to nursery rhymes and someone mentioned that with today’s “results driven” requirements and assessment-based measurements, nursery rhymes were rarely, if ever, taught in schools anymore.

I only mention this because I wonder how many children, in today’s world of Facebook, YouTube, cell phones, texting, and every other technological connection, could finish the rhyme that this blog’s title references? (Sure, you could Google, Bing, or Wikipedia it, but that would be cheating right…)

How does your garden grow? With silver bells, and cockle shells, and pretty maids all in a row!

Anyway, the point of this blog is to not talk about nursery rhymes, but to look at how gardening, or more specifically, creating a school-based garden is a simple, enriching and relatively inexpensive way to incorporate place-based education into your curriculum. Not only that, but a school-garden is an excellent way to connect with community businesses to seek plant and seed donations, while also providing other community organizations (a nursing home, a day care center, a homeless shelter) with some of the fruits (or flowers, or vegetables) of your students’ labor!

Creating a school-based garden helps to get students out of the classroom and into the environment to experience plants, nature, weather, recycling (composting) first-hand. Why just talk about the life cycle of a plant….show your students how a seed that is planted can grow into a beautiful flower! Talk about how marigolds, when planted next to a tomato, act as a ‘natural’ repellant for bugs that would otherwise destroy the plant’s fruit.

According to the website School Garden Wizard (www.schoolgardenwizard.org) a school garden … requires a child's intellectual, emotional and social engagement with things that must be measured, counted, weighed, arranged, planned and cared for. It can yield gratifying and often surprising results for you and your students. Truly, when we talk about place-based education being in your own backyard, it doesn’t get much easier than creating a space which many classrooms, teachers, and students can use as a real-life connection and hands-on experience.

The website, created as a partnership between the U.S. Botanic Garden and the Chicago Botanic Garden features easy-to-follow information guides with directions and guidelines on everything from Planning for Success to Keeping it Growing. There is a wealth of teacher activities and resources, so be sure to take a look.

Place-based education doesn’t always require busses, permission slips, and chaperones…it sometimes just takes creativity, imagination, and some planning. See how your school garden can enhance your existing curriculum.

And in case you are wondering, no, I don’t know what a ‘cockle shell’ is…I had to look it up in Wikipedia.