Last week Dena Weiss-Tisman’s third graders visited the garden twice; once to harvest a certain number of kale leaves each and another sunny afternoon, to watercolor and sketch their impressions of the garden. Step aside, Monet!

When 12 of the students were asked to predict how many kale leaves they would collect in all if each student picked 4, the answers varied depending on the math abilities of the children. They listened attentively to their friends’ thinking. Then some changed their predictions. Ultimately, Dena helped illustrate the solution by having the class make arrays with the kale leaves they had harvested….hands-on multiplication. Then students de-ribbed the kale and we used the leaves to make kale chips, everyone’s favorite. (Recipe below.)

Kale Chips Recipe

Later, the class took watercolors out to the garden and found a quiet place to paint. They all quickly focused on their little part of the garden world. This is one of my favorite garden activities. Art show to follow soon.