It is the height of the monarch migration season. By all reports, it has been a great year to be involved in the conservation of this species. Summer numbers are up and my own experience supports that observation. As school restarts, it is a busy time for me as a non-formal educator. In the last…
As of last night, this monarch breeding season has allowed me to raise and release 13 adult monarch butterflies! That number is many times greater than than last year at this time, when I had only released one, on July 9th. Last year, although a great late season in tagging numbers, had a very slow…
The month of May was consuming. This year, I had a new school garden to manage. It is very large, much larger than the school garden I was previously in charge of caring for. It’s been a struggle to get it planted and weeded. Before planting with each of the 400+ students that attend this…
While I had a rough start to my day yesterday, there was a bright spot other than my chance to develop relationships with a new set of students. I also had a new group of young adult volunteers come to the garden to help in the afternoon. These were all people who work for a…
Last night I spoke to a small group of our local Lionesses who had invited me to their meeting to talk about Monarch Butterflies. Already with a lot on my plate, I reluctantly agreed to accept their invitation, even though I received it but two short weeks ago. Conserving Monarch Butterflies and their habitat is…
Have you ever heard of National History Day (NHD)? Let me tell you about my past experience with it as I reference my three sons. Then, I will elaborate on the experience I had with it today at our regional competition. One Website – that progressed from school to regionals and on to the…
My husband and I had a long serious conversation yesterday morning. It was a good conversation, one in which he really listened to me through my choked up sobs and crocodile sized tears. I have learned that having someone to really hear you, listen intently, and give well-considered feedback is so important. The upshot of…
Deb Frasier, one of the authors on the TwoWritingTeachers.org Blog wrote this week about writing environments. She dove into how and where she decides to write and then wrote about student writing spaces. Her points about having spaces comfortable and conducive to writing struck a chord with me for a few reasons. Firstly, I encounter…
For a large portion of my adult life I have been an active community volunteer. Thousands of my life’s hours have been spent volunteering! Most likely my earliest volunteer experiences occurred when we moved cross-country and I felt the need to immerse myself in a new community where we knew no one. Due to some…
Last year, a parent donated 220 Amaryllis Kits to the after school garden club I ran at our local elementary school. It was not the first time she had made such a donation, but the volume this time was much larger! 220 Kits! Wow! I had about 40 students enrolled in garden club and knew…