Hello FamiLEEs,

I look forward to meeting you at the Open House on Thursday! Please stop by the Garden Museum, which is located next to the Media Center and Ms. Allen's art room. You will have the chance to try out our portable microscope!

I have included a survey about our garden education in the link below. I appreciate your input!

Small Group Y2, YK, G3A, and G3B on 2/6 and 2/7

I occasionally offer Small Group Garden Time to help with gardening tasks, depending on our garden needs. During these sessions, about six learners from a class will participate in gardening, while the teacher remains with the other learners.

This small group format is easier to manage and allows teachers to work more closely with fewer learners in the classroom. I hope this arrangement works better for both the teachers and myself!

Y2 Planted carrot seeds, watered and prepared the beds. They also found a snail shell!

YK planted carrot seeds and prepared the beds. They were even excited to pull out weeds and examine the roots!

G3A planted carrot seeds, prepared the beds, and turned the compost. One learner asked, "Do the different colors of carrots have different seed appearances?"

They were delighted to find grubs in the soil!

G3B found many grubs in the bed! They planted carrot, spinach, lettuce, and Asian green seeds and enjoyed watering them!

Small Group B4 on 2/21

Six learners from B4 cut the seed potatoes in preparation for later planting.

They also used a microscope to observe the eyes of the potatoes. Although it was initially challenging to focus the microscope and see the details, after several attempts, they could see the roots emerging from the eyes and observe the texture of the skin. They were amazed to discover that the microscopic view of the potato was so different from what they usually see.

B4 observed the seed potatoes and their eyes under a microscope. They also cut the potatoes for later planting.

Looking at our surroundings through a microscope allows us to see the world in a whole new way. Members of Mice Busters explored various items, from their clothes to worms in the compost.

I also used the microscope to show different types of soil and seeds during indoor recess and garden sessions this month. I'm excited to use it in the garden in March!

I want to thank a fifth grader from Green House who taught us how to use the microscope, and I also appreciate Mr. Howard for filming the demonstration. Thank you for sharing the video!

Mice Busters members tried the microscope.

Microscope exploration during indoor recess in Green and Purple House. They observed different types of soil, seeds, and plants.

A wasp nest under a microscope

How to use a portable microscope: Instructional video by a Green 5 learner

Mrs. Shaner read books about Monarch butterflies on Mackinvia, an online library for digital resources. She discussed the danger to Monarchs and ways to help them. The third graders learned about illegal logging in the areas where Monarchs spend the winter in Mexico, harmful use of chemicals, and the effects of extreme weather on their lives and habitats. Afterward, they completed a worksheet on Numbers.

To summarize their learning, Mrs. Shaner proposed creating an Alphabet book titled "M is for Monarch." P3 learners started working on the book. Each learner will create a page representing information associated with a letter of the alphabet. I am excited to see what the book will look like!

The learners also observed milkweed seeds and seed pods under a microscope.

P3 and Y3 learners summarized what they have learned.

M is for Monarch by P3

Small Group P3 and Y3 on 2/12

To raise awareness about Monarch conservation at our school, some learners from P3 and Y3 created a display for their Monarch Waystation Project at the Garden Museum. Thank you to Ms. Toledo and Ms. Gutierrez for allowing them to work on this project!

Even after their successful fundraiser efforts, the Mice Busters continue to progress. They are highly productive, with the team members consistently working on the projects and communicating daily through Schoology and other apps.

They have created a newspaper, flyers, and a website to share their work with the entire school. Additionally, they found burrows believed to be used by rodents and have blocked them off.

We also received an owl nest box to attract barn owls, which will help control the rat population. An ultrasonic device and coyote urine were introduced to the garden on January 31, and they appear to be effective. The latest updates can be found in the newspaper below.

An ultrasonic device and coyote urine were used, resulting in the plants beginning to grow from seeds.

Newspaper Movie: Please check for updates on the garden!

You can find the Newspaper flyer in the Media Center. Thank you to Ms. Stout for letting us use the space!

Newspaper flyers are placed in various locations throughout the school.

Mice Busters Website will be launching soon!

The members reflected on the situation and realized that while many learners were aware of the keychain sale, few knew about our rodent problems and the purpose of our project. They are working on a promotional video to raise awareness about our group and encourage more learners to participate in our initiative.

Member's discussion on Schoology

I am grateful that our group continues to grow and remain active. My experience leading this group has been enhanced by my past involvement in the Fix-it Club, a group of fifth graders dedicated to fixing problems in the garden. I wrote about the lessons learned from this experience in my blog post titled "A Small Group Makes a Difference to the School Community," which can be found on my blog, "Unlock Our Life."

This year, I want to help Mice Busters reach its full potential with this project.

Our next project - Owl Nest Box

The members named their club "Monarch Sunset Gardens." One member designed a logo for the club, while another started creating a 3D life cycle model of monarch butterflies. Additionally, someone has developed an online quiz about monarch butterflies, and others have begun working on the club's website.

Many members are also engaged in creating Monarch gardens within the Minecraft world. One proposed combining the quiz with Minecraft to create a "Monarch Quiz Maze." Everyone is enthusiastic about building an amazing Monarch World that will capture people's interest, during recess. I can't wait to see what they create!

The members work on their projects during recess.

Monarch Sunset Garden's Website is under construction.

Thank you to the teachers for collaborating and bringing their learners to the outdoor learning!

I appreciate the continuous support from Naoko Maki, a former parent at Lee Elementary, of our Garden Time and compost project.

In this newsletter, I used the pictures and videos taken by Naoko Maki and the teachers.