Our teachers always strive to show enthusiasm for the importance of protecting the environment. They find creative and inspiring ways to teach the life cycle of a plant, the importance of the outdoor environment and the importance of the sun. When teaching about the outdoor environment, they help our students make connections between their knowledge of plants and their understanding of the environment. As part of our efforts to instill the importance of gardening, teachers at the Academy Campus decided to create a patch of flowers in the school garden.
The expression of joy on the students’ faces when they learned that we would be planting flowers in our school garden, was a rewarding experience for teachers. When discussing planting, a 5 year old child in the class made the connection between plants and the ozone layer. “Ozone depletion impacts plant life and this has a negative impact on humans and animals.” He said that his sister in Grade 2 at RMS taught him this. His observation sparked a conversation that spoke volumes for our students’ understanding of the importance of gardening. In response to the many ideas that came up, another child added his thoughts, explaining how plants remove carbon dioxide and toxins from the air, which if they did not do, would affect his lungs just like he learned in the unit on the respiratory system. Equipped with all of this knowledge and understanding, the children cheerfully headed outside to plant their flowers.
Once they got outside, the students were so excited to get their hands on a shovel and start digging. They kept saying that each flower was going to make their environment better. Each student was taught what they needed to do step by step. They took their shovels and dug a hole to place their flowers into, then picked the flower they wanted to plant and placed it in. Finally, they patted down the soil around it. One child stood out that day because he stood back and said that this was one of the best things he had ever done and that it was extremely fun too. This showed our teachers that they had taught children to be enthusiastic about planting and the environment. Our goal is to continue to inspire more children to become enthusiastic about planting, grow to love our environment and believe that they can be the change that will keep Earth a beautiful, healthy and clean space.
We look forward to seeing you and sharing with you the private school community of which we are so proud!
To learn more about Rowntree Montessori Schools (RMS), continue browsing our website and ideally drop by any of our welcoming, friendly and family oriented campuses for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:00am-3:00pm. If you prefer, call to book an appointment for a personal tour anytime Monday-Friday 9:30am-3:00pm.
More details about Rowntree Montessori Schools‘ approach to education can be seen by clicking here.
