4^th – 5^th Grade: Colonial Herbs

Learning Landscapes staff meets with fourth grade students to discuss the use of herbs in the colonial times. The students will plant herb seeds in trays and place them under grow lights in their classrooms for several weeks. The students observe the germination process and plant growth. Students create reference cards for each of the seeds they plant that day. Each student is assigned one herb on which to complete a brief research project. During the weeks of plant growth students monitor the growth and update their reference cards with information and pictures. The Learning Landscapes staff take the seedlings to a greenhouse until they are ready to be planted in the garden.  Once the students have completed their herb reports they present their reports to the Learning Landscapes staff. They then check the growth of their plants, update their reference cards and plant the herbs in the school garden. Students also trade herbs to take home. The Reference cards are laminated and placed in the garden to identify the different herbs. When the students return to school in the fall as fifth graders they return to the garden to harvest their herbs. They then measure the height of their plant and weight it. Students remove the stems and dry the herbs in a food dehydrator; they then weight the herbs again and determine how much weight was lost during the drying process. Students package the herbs for sale by sorting, weighing, and pricing. The herbs are sold to the PTA by the students for funds to contribute to their garden.

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