Earth Day has arrived and many of us are taking time to step out into nature for some fresh air. With flowers blooming, birds chirping and bees buzzing, some educators are using the spring season as a unique learning opportunity for their students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shelly Eldridge, a pre-k teacher at Marlowe Elementary School in Berkeley County, surprised her students by sending them seed growing kits. “I cannot wait to see how everyone documents and grows their seeds,” she tweeted. And kindergarten students from Buffalo Elementary School in Putnam County were tasked with art projects last week — they used rocks, flowers, and twigs from their own backyards to create heart-shaped masterpieces.
Ms. May, a teacher at Berkeley County Schools, also recently planted flowers and pumpkins in her home garden as a way to honor her kindergarten class. “The pumpkins are for memories made at the pumpkin patch last fall and the flowers are for how much the students have grown and blossomed this year,” Krista Ematrudo, assistant principal at Valley View Elementary in Martinsburg, explained.
Earth Day was first celebrated on April 22, 1970, and is now celebrated in more than 193 countries around the world. You can use Earth Day to help your child learn more about his or her environment. Educational resources can be found here.