Hi Lee Spurs! I’ll be writing this newsletter for you all. My previous newsletters were mostly for our parents, but I’ve decided to shift my focus back to our kids. Don’t worry, parents will still find it fun and interesting too! 😊

I’ve also included five questions for you all to answer. Please read to the end and complete all the questions!

We’re excited to announce our Farmers’ Market on Friday, May 16th, during lunch at the cafeteria. We’ll be selling our garden harvest, including fresh carrots, potatoes, garlic, leeks, onions, and mint.

For every $2 spent, you’ll receive a seed packet with a variety of vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, melons, corns, cucumbers, beans, squash, and more. I’ll provide more details soon!

Gardening changes how we think about time. Two years ago, Mrs. Leigh Ann Howard, who used to be our assistant principal, gave us iris bulbs.

Last year, they didn't bloom very much, but this year, they grew strong and healthy through the winter. I've waited excitedly for a long time to see the flowers, and this April, they FINALLY bloomed beautifully!

In our busy everyday lives, we often focus on minutes or even seconds. However, gardening helps us think in terms of months, years, and even longer periods. Growing plants inspires us to watch things grow slowly and steadily, and to understand that many good things take time.

I believe that gardening offers a fresh and profound perspective on the world, our projects, and even the people around us.

Our learners planted the iris bulbs on January 6, 2023.

They started blooming beautifully in April, 2025!

Some of you created a self-watering pot and planted seeds to take home at the STEAM Night. Did the seeds sprout? Were you delighted to see them? Your plants will be ready to transplant in a few weeks. Please let us know if your plants are growing or not in the poll!

If your seeds did not germinate, you can bring the pot to the Garden Museum, and I will give you more seeds until they are all gone. Keep trying!

Take good care of your plants! Every day, check them to observe their growth and make sure your self-watering pot is working well. This interaction with your plants will bring you pure joy and boost your self-confidence.I will write more about this topic in my next newsletter.

Please answer the questions. Thank you for your input!

If your seeds in the self-watering pot have already sprouted, you can upload a photo of yourself and your seedlings to the Schoology Media Album, "FamiLEE Fun-tastic Garden."

If you did not get a self-watering pot at the STEAM Night, feel free to upload a photo of yourself and your plant growing at home to the album. This way, we can learn from each other’s experiences.

You can access the album by navigating to Courses > Lee Elementary: All Students (Yellow Icon) > Lee Garden > Media Album "FamiLEE Fun-tastic Garden."

Below is the flyer with the QR code to upload your photos through Google Photos.

Your photos will be proudly displayed on the FamiLEE ⭐ Garden banner in the Garden Museum. Let's work together to make it flourish!

Look for the "FamiLEE Fun-tastic Garden" Media Album on Schoology to upload your photos!

Use the QR code to upload the photos through Google Photos.

Thank you for coming to our booth at the STEAM Night!

Thank you to the parents for answering the survey! I received 26 responses, and 25 out of 26 people (96%) said that their children have talked about our school garden. The only person who answered no said that they moved here last month.

According to the survey, 20 people (77%) are growing plants at home, such as vegetables (50%), flowers (42%), and indoor plants (31%).

Regarding how often parents want their children to visit the garden:

1. Every day (31%)

1. As often as possible (31%)

3. Once a week (8%)

3. Twice a week (8%)

3. Regularly (8%)

6. 3-4 times a week (4%)

6. Once in two month (4%)

6. Not much (4%)

6. No answer (4%)

I guess the people who are more interested in gardening answered the survey, but their responses showed a high interest in bringing their children to the garden.

Lastly, what parents expect from our garden education includes learning how to grow plants and their own food organically, understanding life science and ecosystems, caring for the environment, and connecting with nature.

Your valuable input helps us plan our garden education program. Thank you for participating in the survey!

Mrs. Shaner and I work together for our third graders to learn about the fascinating world of monarch butterflies through our STEAM program.

They explored the details of these beautiful creatures, such as their appearance, life cycle, diet, amazing migrations, the various dangers they face, and how we can help them. The learners also created a beautiful and educational infographics and ABC books about monarch butterflies.

On April 26, third grade volunteers participated in the RJL booth at the Coppell Earthfest. The purpose was to educate the community about the importance of protecting monarch butterflies and the environmental issues we face.

Wouldn't it be cool to share what we learned with others to help build a better world?

Did you know about a group of fifth graders called "Mice Busters", who took on the challenge of solving the rodent problem in our garden?

At Coppell Earthfest, they presented a "Before and After" of what they did to address this issue, and shared their discussions, key tag fundraiser strategies, and their current plans.

One of our members published and shared her eBook titled, "The Story of Mice Busters" - Told from Anvi's Perspective. Her writing beautifully narrates the creation of the club, their efforts to address the rodent problem, and their future plans. I highly recommend reading it using the below link!

The members created presentations, activities, and prizes for the Earthfest, actively communicating on Schoology during their free time! They took the initiative to start conversations before I told them what to do and worked excellently together. It was truly inspiring to witness how our members positively impacted the lives of people in our community!

In April, we harvested many salad greens and radishes in our garden! Yellow 2, Green 1, Blue 2, and Blue 4 participated in "Grow Radish Project". The learners started seeds in March, kept journaling, and finally harvested their radishes after a month!

Flowers in the Monarch garden near the eco pond and the pollinator garden next to the vegetable garden started blooming, making the gardens beautiful.

We also found various creatures, such as ladybugs, bees, spiders, sow bugs, and butterflies in the garden! Gardening with a whole class is a lot of work, but the exciting time we spent together is a precious memory for me.

Grow Radish Project Presentations

Please answer the question. Thank you for your input!

I offered a Garden Scavenger Hunt featuring interesting things in the garden. Purple K learners explored the garden and found various plants and creatures. I genuinely hope that many people visit the garden during this time, as there’s always something new to discover.

On March 31, PK learners looked for items in the Garden Scavenger Hunt. "What is milkweed?" "Where is beet?" They were also curious about fire ants, ladybugs, and even the tall toolbox!

An Example of Scavenger Hunt Sheet

I believe that discovering beauty in nature brings great joy and happiness to our lives. Moreover, expressing the beauty we found is a truly enriching experience. I wanted to share this experience with our learners.

Before taking pictures, I showed the Yellow 1 learners some of my own photographs and asked them to choose the ones they found most beautiful. They also explained their reasons for selecting those photographs. My goal was to encourage them to think about what beauty is. Then, they began taking pictures, rotating between harvesting and taking photos.

Please take a look at our first graders' beautiful photographs!

Photographs Taken by Y1 Learners

The composition and color combination are beautiful!

The angle to capture the flower is cool!

The composition and color contrast is nice!

On April 29, Y1 learners harvested salad greens and took pictures of our garden.

Please answer the question. Thank you for your input!

During an indoor recess on a rainy day, some members of the Monarch Sunshine Gardens, a group of Red 3 learners, safely watched the rain under the roof at the the pavilion on the second floor of the school building.

They enjoyed the refreshing cool air and watched numerous raindrops cascading onto the table and floor. Even by touching a bit of rain on their hands, they were inspired to create a haiku and poem!

Please answer the question. Thank you for your input!

Check out my blog, "Unlock Our Life" , to discover more about our garden education!

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

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