Nourish the mind, body, and planet
We provide a safe and secure place to learn with abundant activities that model healthy behavior, grow strong bodies and teach children how to make a lasting, positive impact on the planet.
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Earth from your child’s point-of-view
Britt Stromberg | May 3, 2010 | Comment
Two weeks after Earth Day, and there’s still a lot of talk about recycling, gardening and wildlife around my house. But mostly my talk. And my teaching. How are these subjects developing in the minds of my daughter and her friends? I wanted to find out so I asked them a few open-ended questions and videotaped their answers. Have a look.
Things we can do to help the Earth:
Friends talk about our planet:
This is a fun project that yields the sentiments of your child. Like the idea that Earth is where the people we love live. After viewing TV series like Planet Earth, it’s nice to leave the jungles and ocean floors and return to the idea of Earth as our families’ home. That simple but moving notion brings the Earth Day mission full-circle; back to the concept of saving the planet for the generations to come. Plus it reveals how central Earth is to our children’s sense of family.
What does Earth look like through the eyes of your child?
This projects is easy to pull off. You don’t need a fancy recorder. The video function on your digital phone works great. Here are questions to help start your inquiry:
−Where is the Earth?
−What grows there?
−What do you want to do to help the Earth?
Be sure to share your video with us.
Here’s how:
−Email your video file to share@groveschool.com
−Or, email us the embed link from YouTube
−Check out others’ videos on our YouTube channel
Remember too that we have a fabulous new eco-adventure summer program at The Grove School. In it we’ll introduce your child to the five major biomes of the world—deserts, forests, grasslands, tundra and water. Learn more.
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3-step plan for gardening with kids
Britt Stromberg | April 28, 2010 | Comment
Planting with kids of any age encourages their interest in nature and gives invaluable basic skills, like the ability to see cause-and-effect relationships, explore sensory experiences, express creativity and practice inquiry. Not to mention the chance to develop patience, responsibility and self-confidence. Plus gardening is fun. Kids love scooping dirt, planting seeds and watching plants grow.
Container gardens make a great introduction to gardening for children. And now through May is the ideal time to plant a decorative container. They’re space-savers—a window sill, patio, balcony or doorstep will provide sufficient space. And they’re great for food or flowers. Here’s a 3-step plan to get you started.
Step 1: Find a container
Planter boxes, wooden barrels and large flowerpots can be used. Or get creative and reuse items that your child will appreciate, like juice boxes, rubber balls, a baby bathtub or a toy box. See how to create these and other fun containers here. Make sure your container has adequate drainage. Holes should be at least 1/2 inch across.
toy dumptruck container garden
Step 2: Pot your plant
Start with dirt. Ask your child what dirt is. There are different kinds of it. Show her by taking a walk in your neighborhood and touching the soil at a variety of locations, like a building site, stream bed, or friend’s flower garden. For older children, explain that life on Earth depends on the nutrient cycling that takes place in the soil as microorganisms and larger animals recycle organic materials.
The dirt in your container should drain rapidly but retain enough moisture to keep the roots evenly moist. This site has good soil instructions. And here’s a video that shows how to mix your own organic soil. When it’s time to pot, encourage your child to help. They can mix dirt, scoop it into the pot and poke in the seeds.
As far as what to grow, consider planting things that your child like to eat. Or grow a wide variety of annuals. Here are some plants ideally suited for growing in containers:
Veggies: Tomatoes, eggplant, green onions, beans, lettuce, squash, radishes, parsley
Flowers: Pansies and nasturtiums (their leaves are edible), marigolds, snapdragons, periwinkles
Step 3: Water, watch and wait
Your child will love holding the hose or watering can. If you use a hose, set the nozzle on mist to keep from drowning the plant. In the coming days, help your child vary the watering regime and adjust the amount of sun or shade. Keep in mind that container gardens must be watered more frequently than ground plants. Container plants can not tap into the moisture which ground plants have access too deep within the soil. And, if outside, container gardens have the full force of the sun to dry out their soil.
After a week or two, you and your child will get a feel for how much water your plant needs. Help your child remember to water by printing a watering chart from chartjungle.com. It has space to write down names of plants and check off boxes for the days of the week the plants need watering.
Show off your work. Plant this weekend, take a picture and send it to us using our flickr photostream.
Resources
Kidsgardening.com
American Community Gardening Association
The Kids Garden
My First Garden
The Pumpkin Circle: The Story of a Garden
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Hard to get young kids outdoors? Some approaches
Britt Stromberg | April 26, 2010 | Comment
Last week I wrote about Nature Deficit Disorder and its alarming consequences for our children, including mood disorders, attention-span issues and obesity. Not to mention the fact that they miss the benefits of outdoor play, like greater self-esteem, creativity and improved attention span.
But since you enrolled your child in a school like The Grove School and you’re reading this post, chances are you appreciate the value of the great outdoors. Problem is there are obstacles to getting there. Here are remedies for 3 common ones.
Obstacle: Both parents have indoor responsibilities, so no one is available to supervise young kids outside.
Remedies:
- Team up with other parents in the neighborhood or from your child’s class to share supervision.
- Hire a baby sitter specifically for a few hours of outdoor play.
- Try to work outdoors on your laptop while the kids play in a safe area.
- Schedule outdoor time by actually writing “go outside” on the family calendar each week or (ideally) each day.
Here’s something you can schedule today: The National Wildlife Federation’s Great American Backyard Campout.
Obstacle: Indoor enrichment classes leave no time to be outdoors.
Remedies: If the balance seems off, it might be time to reassess. All of the articles I reviewed suggest that an hour outdoors can be as enriching than an hour of instruction indoors. Before you sign your children up for computer summer school, consider camps that focus on unstructured time in the environment, where children are free to use all their senses and play as they wish. Check out The Grove School’s eco-adventure summer program.
Obstacle: I’m not naturally outdoorsy, and I’m not sure where to find nature near my me.
Remedies: Nature Deficit Disorder activist Richard Louv has a wonderful Resource Guide for this. One of his lovely suggestions: “Be a cloudspotter. No special shoes or drive to the soccer field is required for ‘clouding.’ A young person just needs a view of the sky (even if it’s from a bedroom window) and a guidebook.” Check out Gavin Pretor-Pinney’s wonderful book “The Cloudspotter’s Guide.”
Through April, I’ll cover other nature-related topics and activities here in the blog. And I’d love to hear ideas from you. Leave them in the Comments section below.
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Earth Day photo celebration from NASA
Britt Stromberg | April 23, 2010 | Comment
Some glorious images of our planet from NASA. Check out more pictures at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Flickr page.
All images courtesy of NASA.
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What’s all this about Nature Deficit Disorder?
Britt Stromberg | April 23, 2010 | Comment (1)
I hear the term Nature Deficit Disorder so much lately that I decided to look into it. NDD, as it’s sometimes called, describes the American youth’s lack of relationship with the environment. It’s a problem because it has led to a nationwide increase in childhood mood disorders like anxiety, depression, obesity and attention-span issues.
Richard Louv is leading the wake-up call. In his book, “Last Child in the Woods” (first published in 2005) he points to TV, Internet and other multimedia outlets as major contributors to our youth’s sedentary lifestyle. According to research, the average home in the U.S. has more TVs than children, and kids in our country watch more TV than children any place else in the world.
What I find so interesting about Louv’s message is that it’s not just about turning off the TV. It’s about actually getting outside. That’s important because studies show that time spent in nature gives our children valuable ingredients for healthy, happy living. For example, one resource I found cited that children’s attentional functioning improves after play in green settings. And that the greener an activity area the better the children functioned, with attention deficit symptoms becoming less severe. Another resource suggests that a connection to nature leads to greater self-esteem. Louv says it best, “Parents should see the woods, streams, fields and canyons around their home as a type of therapy to keep kids focused, confident, healthy, and balanced.”
This totally struck such a cord with me because I cherish the memories of my own childhood outdoor adventures. I can’t imagine my daughter not having the same experience.
On Monday, I’ll cover more on this topic, including some creative ideas for getting outside with your kids. In the meantime, be sure to leave your thoughts in the Comments section below.
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Jump-start your Earth Day conversation with music
Britt Stromberg | April 21, 2010 | Comment
One of the joys of having a preschooler is hearing the creative ideas they have for real-world issues. To get my daughter talking about Earth Day, I popped in the album “Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George” by Jack Johnson and Friends. On it is the “3 R’s” song, which highlights the concepts reduce, reuse and recycle. And it features math too. Grab your child and have a listen.
My daughter loves that song. And I do, too. It’s relevant to our times and it’s fun to sing. There’s also a lot in it to help spark communication about Earth Day. Here are a couple of conversation-starter suggestions:
What do the words reduce, reuse and recycle mean?
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- Reduce means to make something simpler or smaller.
- Reuse means to use something more than once.
- Recycle means to put something used through a process that allows it to be used again.
To help define other Earth Day words, check out this online dictionary for kids.
Why do you think we do these activities?
Talking about these actions can help children learn how simple items they use every day can be reduced, reused and recycled. This encourages them to be helpful around the house and yard, as well as to help take care of our planet.
How else do you learn what’s on your child’s mind on Earth Day? Be sure to share it all with us in the Comments section below.
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Earth Day at The Grove School
Britt Stromberg | April 19, 2010 | Comment
Here at The Grove School, we celebrate the Earth every day. Doing so is part of our commitment to model healthy behavior, grow strong bodies and teach children how to make a lasting, positive impact on the planet.
Through the rest of April on our blog, we will feature activities, resources and tips to learn how to protect our environment and appreciate nature. We’ll also showcase the school’s celebrations on Earth Day, Thursday, April 22. Be sure to let us know how you’re celebrating the day. And do share your favorite activities in our Comments section below.
Discover the Story of Earth Day
Gaylord Nelson (June 4, 1916 – July 3, 2005)
Earth Day was founded in 1970 by Democratic U.S. Senator and then Governor of Wisconsin, Gaylord Nelson. Nelson was a passionate environmentalist in a time when there was no Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act or EPA. Factories just spewed toxic materials into the natural landscape. Nelson wanted to change that.
He discovered that the people of Wisconsin supported his passion, and he believed that the nation would echo their sentiment. In 1963, he wrote a memo to President John F. Kennedy arguing that the environment was a popular issue worthy of the president’s upcoming speaking tour. The president agreed and the tour became known as the Conservation Tour.
The tour did not result in change. Nelson worked on Congress for the next 6 years to raise the alarm. He was fruitless, so he decided to take his message to the American people.
In 1969 he proposed a national teach-in for the environment. He got the idea from college students who had been staging teach-ins to educate their campuses about the war in Vietnam. Seven months later Nelson’s idea resulted in the largest demonstration in U.S. history. Twenty million Americans demonstrated on April 22, 1970. Congress took notice. Before the year’s end, they authorized the creation of a new federal agency to tackle environmental issues, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Other critical environmental initiatives would soon follow.
Earth Day flag
Today, Earth Day is celebrated internationally. Many communities celebrate Earth Week, an entire week of activities focused on environmental issues. You may see the Earth Day flag, which was designed by world peace advocate John McConnell.
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American Heart Month: A family plan for healthy living
Heidi Venneri | February 1, 2010 | Comment
Since February is American Heart Month, what better time to ensure you are guiding your family down a path of healthy living?
Most young children delight in being physically active, which makes childhood an ideal time to talk with them about the benefits of lifelong fitness and good nutrition. Helping children develop positive attitudes toward healthy lifestyles at an early age makes it more likely they will carry healthy-living habits with them into adulthood.
Getting Started
• Identify the types of physical activities your family enjoys. According to the document 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, children and adults should engage in physical activities for 60 minutes each day. This is especially important for young children and adolescents, to ensure they continue to build strong bones and muscles. Daily activities can include light-intensity (or “baseline”) activities such as standing and lifting light-weight objects, and high-intensity (or “health-enhancing”) activities such as jumping rope and dancing. The goal of each activity should be to improve bone health, flexibility, body composition (the percentage of fat, bone, and muscle), and cardiovascular and muscular fitness.
Work as a family to create a list of physical activities your family already enjoys doing together, such as hiking or gardening. Then brainstorm a list of new activities to try, such as bicycling or kicking a soccer ball in the park. As your family thinks of new activities, keep adding them to the list.
• Decide when your family will participate in physical activities together. After you have identified the activities your family enjoys, choose one or two activities to participate in each day. One simple activity families can do together, for example, is to take a walk after dinner. Walking is an excellent way to help digest a meal and strengthen muscles, and it provides an opportunity to share about each other’s day. List the activities on your family calendar and mark off each day’s activities together so everyone can look forward to the next day’s activities.
• Determine your family’s fitness goals and keep track of them. Consider setting fitness goals for your family. As with any type of exercise you begin, it is important to first consider the ages and current fitness levels of all participants. Then you can work toward increasing the intensity and duration of different activities. For example, during the first week, your family might take 30-minute walks each night after dinner, followed by dancing to your child’s favorite CD in the living room. The next week, increase the time spent walking and pick up the dancing pace a bit.
One way to track your family’s fitness goals is to write them down and put them on the refrigerator or in some other highly visible location. Review your goals periodically. After a goal has been met, set a new goal to work toward.
Remember: The most important goal is for all family members to participate in physical activities regularly, so it’s important that any goals you set are attainable and that everyone is motivated to work toward them.
• Talk about the importance of good nutrition and healthy eating habits. Children need adults to teach them about foods that are healthy for their bodies as well as to model eating healthy foods. Talking about good nutrition with children can be as simple as explaining the need to eat foods from different food groups to ensure their bodies receive the different vitamins and minerals needed to stay healthy.
As a family, create menus that include foods that are healthy and that everyone enjoys. Then, involve your child in the food-shopping process, including making a list and locating different foods in the store. For children who are reading, teach them how to read labels on foods too.
Maintaining Your Plan
Helping children understand the importance of regular exercise and eating nutritious foods will encourage them to maintain healthy lifestyles later on.
• Do get active! Remember to participate in some type of physical activity or activities for a total of at least 60 minutes each day. It’s not about exercising for long periods of time; it’s just about moving!
• Do have fun! Family members are much more likely to participate in physical activities that are fun, so make sure everyone enjoys the time spent together.
• Do eat healthy! Eat fewer foods that are high in fat and calories, and more foods that benefit the body, such as fruits and vegetables. Involve the entire family in selecting and preparing meals so everyone understands how to make healthy food choices.
One of the best things you can do for your children today is to help them develop the knowledge and lifestyle habits that will help them live happy and healthy lives tomorrow.
The best six doctors anywhere,
And no one can deny it,
Are sunshine, water, rest, and air,
Exercise and diet.
–Nursery rhyme quoted by Wayne Fields in his book What the River Knows.
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Inside and out, details make the difference
Scott Cervenak | January 14, 2010 | Comment
The last 6 months or so have been quite a whirlwind for a lot of people on the Grove School team. Regardless, it has been and continues to be a rewarding experience for all of us. The vision of what the schools would look and feel like is complete and we are very proud of the results.
Inside, the classrooms feature warm colors with soft accent hues for contrast. The flooring is recycled rubber that is softer, quieter, more forgiving and better for the environment than traditional tile. The classrooms have “old school” and “new school” technology. 
We have Hatch “smart” boards that offer the latest in computer learning tools, but we also have chalk boards for all kinds of traditional fun. Our sinks are composite in a cool “kidney” shape with hands-free functionality, reducing germs and saving water. 
We have textured soft ceiling tiles with more contemporary lighting, a custom made casework package and stained wood doors. Our classroom signs and environmental messaging boards explaining some of our initiatives are sprinkled throughout the building. I just love our classroom signs. They are really fun, complete with Grove School style icons that speak to our experience.
If I could sum up all the things we did with one feature it would either be our classrooms signs or the recycled cylinder “drum” we have out in the playground. You just do not see things like these anywhere let alone in an educational environment.
Outside, we have a greenhouse, a stage, a marimba, arbors, a climbing rock, water features for play and learning, soft, zero-maintenance turf instead of grass, sand play areas and more recycled-content pieces than you can imagine.
Our benches, picnic tables, chairs, planter boxes, bird houses, stage decking and cylinder drum are all made from recycled materials. Our friends at KOMPAN provided us with some wonderful outdoor play pieces that also feature sustainable construction. In addition, the playground features large trees, art areas, cool, curved trike paths, stools and we are working on a compost and rain barrel area that will be in place very soon.
Why did we do the playground this way? The Grove School does it this way because we wanted something different, fresh, inspirational and engaging for children to explore.
Although we are all beyond excited about the entire offering, what matters most is you and your children. As a potential Grove School parent, we wanted to make sure you understood just how committed we are to bringing your child an unbelievable experience that you cannot find anywhere else. When you walk through our school and connect with our incredible people we think you will understand. Everything we have done is based on our collective experience pushing the envelope. Ultimately though, the Grove School is meaningful to me not just because I had a hand in making it happen, it is meaningful to me because I am a parent, too.
View more photos of our indoor and outdoor classrooms on our Flickr photostream.
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It’s milk day!
Britt Stromberg | January 11, 2010 | Comment
Photo courtesy of Tura Troimh Alba
On this date, waaay back in 1878, fresh, cold milk hit the front porches of America for the first time.
We know how much kids love milk, and it’s served daily at The Grove School. It’s nutritious, yummy and interactive (milk mustaches!).
In honor of all things milk related, may we suggest…
Conversation-starters for kids
- Discuss where milk comes from.
- Check out these fun facts about milk and cows.
- Using stuffed animals, pretend you are at a dairy farm.
- Sample all kinds of dairy products (cheese, yogurt, ice cream) and talk about the differences.
- Make milkshakes!
Activities for kids
- Make “milk” collages by gluing white scrap paper onto dark colored paper. Use the unprinted side of old letters, printouts from work or junk mail.
- Sponge paint black cow spots onto white pieces of paper.
- Try one of these craft projects using milk containers.
- Learn how to draw a cow.
- Color this cute cow picture.
- Take a virtual tour of a dairy farm.
- Look at these pictures of cattle.
- Visit the Got Milk website for fun games and trivia.
(Ideas via About.com)
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