Garden+ @NetZeroLee

Planting Onions

Drawing - "What will the onion plant look like when it is fully grown in the garden?"

Spring planting has begun. Due to the winter freeze, we lost most of our crops, but we started over. Thank you, Y4 (Mrs. C.), Y1 (Ms. Wible), B4 (Ms. Ray), Y5 (Ms. Jennings), and R4 (Ms. Jacob), for planting onions!

Each student planted one baby onion transplant. Some learners said, "I've never planted anything.", and some wondered if the transplants grow into onions.

It takes 90-100 days to grow onions. It is a long time for kids, and they need patience.

A garden, especially a school garden, is dramatic to me. Planting brings hope, and plants grow day by day. Although they grow well, sometimes harsh weather, disease, and pests damage the plants. We might lose our crops, so watching them grow with teachers & kids brings lots of joy all the more.

I look forward to harvesting the onions with them from late April to early May.

After planting the transplants in the garden, the learners drew what the onion plant looks like when ready to harvest.

We asked the kids, "Where does an onion bulb grow, above or below the ground?", "How many leaves and what shapes of leaves does it have?" etc. Their drawings included soil, onion bulb, roots, and leaves.

I hope drawing a picture of the plants makes the kids more interested in watching them grow. Will the onions grow as they drew?

Kids know about onions from the store but might not know how they grow. The school garden offers an opportunity for them to understand how food is produced.

Each drawing is unique and interesting to know what they think. I think drawing is an excellent tool to engage kids in learning.

If you are interested in their drawings, you can see more here.

As you know, many people use the front loop every day. Parents drop off & pick up their children, kids wait for the cars, and teachers work hard to move kids between the building and cars safely and promptly. So, I thought, "What if we can make a joyful front loop?".

In December and the last week, Kindergarteners and 3rd graders planted flowers and placed them in the front loop area for the first step.

What's next? We need your ideas. Let's spark our creativity and make a joyful front loop together!

You can post your ideas on the Padlet board at the link below or email at kenishino@coppellisd.com.

We appreciate ANY ideas!

Garden Guru at Richard J. Lee Elementary

Master Composter from Irving

Certified in Native Plant Landscapes, Certified in Native Plant Landscape Maintenance from Native Plant Society of Texas

Coppell Community Garden member

Email: kenishino@coppellisd.com
Website: https://www.canva.com/design/DAE2C-LbQN8/DG-1zq9v7w0JCzSFjo-Ykw/view
Location: 8808 Chaparral Waters Way, Coppell, TX, USA
Phone: (214) 496-7900
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/keiko.nishino.5836
Twitter: @keikoroann