Spring has sprung! And since it was 90 degrees today I think it’s safe to say that summer has sprung too. The school garden programs that we started in the dead of winter are now taking shape as little vegetable and fruit plants establish themselves. Today I led 40 fifth graders in an activity to count all of the plants in the garden. They split into 6 groups, were set loose on the garden beds, and returned to the classroom with head counts of all of the tomato plants, onions, beets, parsley, spinach, and more. When they added them up the final figure was a whopping 637 plants! A quick confirmation with a calculator revealed the actual figure to be 394. Ah well, while basic numeracy may be lacking, enthusiasm for their garden is not. Even in 90 degree heat it’s a pretty great place to fine tune your math skills. 

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