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School boards group praises outdoor classroom

6-2016, Bill Stoneman, Albany school gardens

Potted strawberry plans await planing.

Fresh air lessens symptoms of both attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and depression, according to environmental psychologist Louise Chawla. And kids who spend time outdoors often develop better social skills, says Sarah Leibel, a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

These and other research findings make a great case for taking teaching and learning outdoors when possible, concludes the New York School Boards Association in its Study Break series https://soundcloud.com/user-308199334/go-ahead-fool-with-mother-nature-the-outdoors-is-an-effective-learning-tool, which provides quick audio suggestions to school leaders. And an Continue reading

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Many ways to participate and contribute

Raising a garden, preparing food with the plants that we grow and creating hands-on learning opportunities with gardens and the food that we grow are labor-intensive Watermelonactivities. Thus, we are grateful for, and really depend on, all the participation in our efforts that we can muster.

Here are some of the many ways you can participate and contribute:

  • We invite you to join us on Saturday, Oct. 3, for Family Day in the Garden at Myers Middle School. We have much work to do cleaning beds and preparing for the colder months ahead. We’ll be there from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  • You can beautify your garden and help us raise funds at the same time by buying flowers bulbs from the Flower Power Fundraiser campaign, now through Oct. 15.
  • We ask you to save Boxtops for Education, found on scores of national brand packaged products. Please drop them off at Myers or Albany High School or get in touch to arrange a pickboxtops logo2 up. We will be making our next submission in late October.
  • We ask you to collect those  Boxtops all year long, year after year, and encouraging your friends, family and neighbors to do the same. It won’t cost a cent.
  • We would be grateful if you would consider helping in the gardens on your own schedule — watering; watering and weeding; or watering, weeding and additional tending to plants’ needs. Please get in touch if this might work for you.
  • And of course, we would welcome you to work with us with kids, during our weekly after-school Garden Club at Myers, for example.

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