May 28, 2026
For the past four years, researching gardening skills and then applying that research to our Bulldog Learning Gardens has been an important part of making fourth graders’ library learning experiences come alive. This year, a new problem popped up - and not out of the soil! The new Lawrence Elementary School did not have a garden.
This didn’t stop LES’s fourth graders or LES teacher librarian, Mrs. Delorie! They turned their garden problem into an information problem - an information problem they could solve through research. Before the snow had even melted, students turned their information problem into questions about wood, soil, and garden tools. They then learned about using databases and other reliable sources of online information to answer their questions. Students, through their own research, learned about the types of wood that would last the longest as garden beds, the mix of soil that would yield strong plants, and how to use tools safely.
With the help of SNAP-Ed funds, what was once just an idea, then a problem, then a series of questions and answers, is now becoming a garden. From carrying out research to carrying soil, our 135 fourth grade students across 7 classes have researched, measured, drilled, screwed, shoveled their way into making the Bulldog Learning Gardens at Lawrence Elementary School a reality.
Special thanks to Tobey Simpson of the district’s Maintenance Department for sharing his time and carpentry expertise with our Bulldog learners. Thanks to him, all of our fourth graders were able to have hands-on time building our 10 new garden beds.
This didn’t stop LES’s fourth graders or LES teacher librarian, Mrs. Delorie! They turned their garden problem into an information problem - an information problem they could solve through research. Before the snow had even melted, students turned their information problem into questions about wood, soil, and garden tools. They then learned about using databases and other reliable sources of online information to answer their questions. Students, through their own research, learned about the types of wood that would last the longest as garden beds, the mix of soil that would yield strong plants, and how to use tools safely.
With the help of SNAP-Ed funds, what was once just an idea, then a problem, then a series of questions and answers, is now becoming a garden. From carrying out research to carrying soil, our 135 fourth grade students across 7 classes have researched, measured, drilled, screwed, shoveled their way into making the Bulldog Learning Gardens at Lawrence Elementary School a reality.
Special thanks to Tobey Simpson of the district’s Maintenance Department for sharing his time and carpentry expertise with our Bulldog learners. Thanks to him, all of our fourth graders were able to have hands-on time building our 10 new garden beds.