School Spotlight: Weaver Lake Elementary’s Garden Cultivates Hands-On Learning
Students enjoy learning out of the classroom and in the garden at Weaver Lake Elementary.
On any given day, you’ll find students in the garden, learning about a variety of STEM, or science, technology, engineering or math, activities.
“We typically will start with science standards and build our value-added projects around science standards so we’ll bring in math standards, English/language arts standards and then just show the kids how it flows all together,” said Jen Gaab, STEM Coach at Weaver Lake Elementary.
For some students, spending time in the garden might be out of the ordinary.
“In this day and age, students do not always have the opportunity to get their hands dirty. They need to go into the gardens, dig with their hands and see how to plant a seed,” said Nicole Kanz, who helps run the garden.
Kanz believes there are lessons to be learned in the dirt–and challenges too.
“The kids are going to have to grow in three seasons, not just spring and fall but also in winter,” said Kanz. “Winter in Minnesota, it’s hard to grow but there are things you can do to grow year round.”
