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After weeks of carefully cultivating a flower and vegetable garden planted outside their classroom, KGD & KGM students encountered a serious problem. They didn't have rabbits raiding the lettuce patch, or worms boring holes in the corn. The plants weren't threatened by birds or drought or any other number of problems faced by many gardeners around the world. Rather, the KG students faced a very different challenge. Due to the students' diligence with watering, weeding, pruning and sweeping the garden, and aided by several unseasonal thunderstorms, the mint plants had overgrown the tidy bamboo plots installed with the help of their teacher and WAB's Properties crew.
KGM Teacher Dylan Meikle asked the students how they should go about solving their problem. If the mint continued growing at such a fast rate, he reminded them, the fragrant green leaves might overshadow the plots of tomatoes, lavender and other herbs growing nearby. The students knew all their plants needed sunlight, after studying living things during the PYP Unit of Inquiry "Is it Alive?" and another called "Production."
"Let's share the mint" a few students suggested. Classmates concurred. "Maybe we could give the mint to our teachers!"
Wilma carried the idea another step further, "We could sell the mint to teachers and give the money to the earthquake peoples."
Enthusiasm spread across the room and overflowed into the KGD classroom next door. The classes set to work spreading the message among teachers the students work directly with, asking them to buy a mint bouquet from the KG garden for 10 RMB to benefit earthquake victims. Then they began harvesting bunches of the lemon and spearmint flavored herb.
"They formed a whole assembly line of action," Angela Devencenzi, KGD Teacher said. "After they harvested the mint, they washed, dried, bundled, and tied it off with string. They were so industrious, cooperative and compassionate about their project."
The students planted their learning garden earlier this spring and have daily tended it before school, during break and lunchtimes. The original mint plants, according to KGD student Tony, cost around 10 RMB each. By turning around and selling their over-abundance at 10 RMB a bundle, the students were able to raise an impressive, if not modest, amount of money to contribute to the earthquake relief.
"The caring aspect of the PYP really came into focus through this Unit
of Inquiry and the gardening," Dylan said. "Students were using their knowledge of
living things to care of the plants and this snowballed into their
caring for humans."
"This project is a great example of the students demonstrating their knowledge from previous PYP units of inquiry," Angela added, "as well as an example of students being extremely caring, an important section of the PYP Learner Profile and WAB Core Values."