Must-Have Resources for Observing the Night Sky

With the right resources, observing the night sky children can be an exciting activity. Whether it is a celestial event like a meteor shower or lunar eclipse, or just regular stargazing, here are some of my favorite resources for learning astronomy. 

These are my favorite resources and can be used in the classroom and out. However, its not always possible to get into the field with students. Maybe you only see the kids during the day, or city lights or weather prevent them from observing the night sky. Some of the digital resources in this post can help with that too! 

This post contains affiliate links, meaning I make a small commission from purchases made from these links, at no additional cost to you. See disclosures for more information. 

Free Resources for Understanding the Night Sky

You don't need expensive equipment to enjoy stargazing. A dark clear area is all you need, a decent pair of binoculars and a star wheel are a bonus. 

If you are not feeling confident with your astronomy skills, here are some resources that will be helpful to you, and are also fairly kid-friendly. 

Download and explore Stellarium. This is a free open-source planetarium. You can choose a location and time and see what the night sky in your area will look like. This is a powerful free resource for becoming familiar with astronomy. Encourage your students to have some free exploration of the software. They can turn on and off constellations, locate planets, "observe" moon phases, etc. It is especially useful when you are in a situation where observing the night sky is not possible. 

When you look up at the night sky and notice a really bright object but have no idea what you are looking at, you need Google's free Sky Map app. Just point your device at that part of the sky and see it labeled on the app. This can be super handy. (Then once you have identified what you are looking at, turn off the device and enjoy nature!)

Download this free star wheel from Sky and Telescope and print it out. You can turn the wheel to the current date and find out what you should be able to see in the night sky in your area. 

Observe and Track the Moon

A fabulous way to connect with the night sky is observing and tracking the phases and position of the moon. It is a great assignment for kids too. Observe what the moon looks like each night for a month, or even just a few times a week. You'll understand a piece of nature more fully and get some fresh air to boot! 

Assign kids a moon observing and  tracking project. Here are some printable downloads that make great hand-outs for this assignment:

 

• Moon Phases Tracker 
• Moon Observation Logbook 
• Northern Hemisphere Moon Observation Chart 

Astronomy Books for the Science Library

There are tons of astronomy books out there, but here are the three I'd start with in my collection. 

Chet Raymo's 365 Starry Nights : An Introduction to Astronomy for Every Night of the Year is the perfect opportunity to hone your amateur astronomy skills. Something to learn or observe each day of the year, illustrated and clearly explained. 

H.A. Rey's The Stars and H.A. Rey's Find the Constellations are also indispensable classics. Kids will gravitate to the appealing illustrations.  

Now get outside and LOOK UP! I think you'll be glad that you did! 

10 FREE Online Science, STEM, STEAM Classes for Kids- September and October 2024

If you are looking for a little something extra for your kids in the science, STEM, and STEAM department, then this post is for you! I've rounded up 10 different online classes that your child can try for FREE this fall. 

Science inspired book clubs, princess and wizard STEM, dinosaurs, biology, current scientific research and more! 

Use my code: MSSARAH2020 for a $20 credit you can use towards any class on Outschool. (New enrollments only.) Each of the classes I've listed in this post are $20 or under. Use your credit to try a class for FREE! 

STEM, STEAM and Science Fantasy Fun!

Who says you can't mix in a little fiction with your science? Check out these magical classes: 

Science is Magic: STEM Alchemy for Young Witches and Wizards

In this class for ages 7-10 kids will complete fun STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) projects through scientific spells, potions and alchemy! Learn more here.

Zoey & Sassafras: A Hands-On STEAM and Book Club Experience 

This class/book club combines reading comprehension with STEM and STEAM projects for ages 6-9. Learn more here.

We love the Zoey and Sassafras books! A great combination of fantasy and science for young readers. 

(Learn more about this book series in these blog posts: Design an Insect Investigation with Zoey and Sassafras: NGSS Linked Activity and this one, perfect for fall: Monsters and Mold: An Apple Experiment)

Princess STEM Club- A Magical Hands-On STEM/STEAM Club with a Princess

Hands-on STEM projects with a princess!! For ages 4-9. Learn more here. 

STEM-ology (a Hands-On Exploration of Mythology and Fantasy + STEAM challenges) 

Hands-on STEM and STEAM projects through storytelling for ages 7-11. Learn more here. 

Use my code: MSSARAH2020 for a $20 credit you can use towards any class on Outschool. (New enrollments only.) Each of the classes I've listed in this post are $20 or under. Use your credit to try a class for FREE! 

Classes for Kids Wild About Animals and Dinos

Junior Paleontologists: Dinosaur Collectors' Club (STEM Science for Dino Lovers) 

Students travel back in time to learn about dinosaurs and fill in their dinosaur field guide along the way. For ages 4-8. Learn more here. 

Ocean Animal Inspector Club: Show and Social 

Investigate a new ocean animal each week in this science and art class for ages 4-9. Learn more here. 

Use my code: MSSARAH2020 for a $20 credit you can use towards any class on Outschool. (New enrollments only.) Each of the classes I've listed in this post are $20 or under. Use your credit to try a class for FREE! 

Free Online Science Classes

Maybe you're looking for a science curriculum. Check out these Hands-On Science courses. 
Hands-On Science 4/5! for ages 8-11, or Hands-On Science 6/7! for ages 10-13. 

In Biology for Beginners: Life Science for Curious Learners students learn the basics of life science, including classification and observation skills, etc. For ages 7-10. Learn more here. 

Build the Human Body with Clay- Learn Anatomy, Biology and Life Science 

Learn about the human body by building models with play dough for ages 6-11. Learn more here. 

Science Journal Club: Let's Discuss Current Research Articles Like Scientists! 

What an awesome opportunity to think like a scientist! In this class for ages 10-13 students discuss current scientific research in articles adapted for kids. Learn more here. 

Use my code: MSSARAH2020 for a $20 credit you can use towards any class on Outschool. (New enrollments only.) Each of the classes I've listed in this post are $20 or under. Use your credit to try a class for FREE! 

Funding for Online Science Classes

Be sure to use the code: MSSARAH2020 when you checkout on Outschool to redeem your $20 credit. This code is only valid for students who have not enrolled in an Outschool class before. If you did not see something you liked in this post, there are so many other courses available! The $20 credit will work towards any class, in any subject.  

If you are in search of additional funding for Outschool online classes, and live in Arizona, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Indiana or New Hampshire you can use your ESA funds through Classwallet for Outschool Classes. You'll find more information here. 

Solar Oven Recycled Crayons Activity

Recycling your bits of broken crayon into new crayons is always a fun activity. Have you ever built a solar oven to recycle your crayons in? 

When the sun is hot and you're looking for something to do with your kids or students, this makes for an engaging STEAM project. Not only will you create something new that you can make art with, there are science and engineering concepts inherent in each step of the process. Plus, making crayons in the solar oven is adaptable across a wide range of ages.

Create an engineering challenge out of designing a solar oven, or build a simple one and focus on the science of heat transfer, phase changes and melting point. If the kids are really young it is a great opportunity to identify and sort colors. 

This post contains affiliate links, meaning I receive a small commission from purchase made through these links at no additional cost to you. Please see disclosures for more information.

Build a Solar Oven

First, decide how you will go about building your solar oven. You can make this an engineering challenge in and of itself. I had kids build them annually for years and it is always a super engaging learning experience. You can see how I've given students a solar oven engineering design challenge here. 

While I enjoy seeing kids create their own solar oven designs, this time around we were focused on the recycled crayon portion of this project. So we built a solar oven out of a pizza box with these directions from Science Buddies. 

Preparing the Crayons for Recycling

First you'll need to gather up the bits and bobs of crayons from the crayon box. This crayon prep work is excellent for small hands. 

We measured to determine which crayons were keepers and which would be recycled. Then we made sure all the crayons that we were using to recycle had been peeled. 

Next we sorted the crayon bits by color. There is a lot of discussion surrounding this. Do they have to be the same shade of the color? Can you make a rainbow crayon? The sky is the limit here, so anything goes. 

Then we put the sorted crayons into our silicone mold. You can use any shape silicone mold, or even a muffin tin. If you choose to use a muffin tin, spray with cooking spray ahead of time to assure your new crayons slip right out. 

We like this set of molds that looks like building bricks and LEGO mini-figures. We got ours on Amazon, but you can find silicone molds in a variety of shapes anywhere they sell candy making and baking supplies. 

As you can see the silicone molds are a bit stained. They have been used to make milk plastic (the directions for milk plastic can be found in the STEAM Kids activity book, which you can find digitally here or in print here) and many times for recycled crayons. The silicone molds work great for this, but I would suggest dedicating a set specifically for craft projects and science experiments and not for food.

Make Recycled Crayons with Solar Power

Find a spot that will remain sunny for several hours. Take note of the direction and angle of the sun and set up the oven where the sun is shining down. You may need to adjust the position of your oven throughout the day as the sun shifts. You can even build a sundial while you wait for your crayons to melt! 

How long does it take before your crayons begin to melt? You may want to put a thermometer inside your oven, or use an infrared surface thermometer and periodically check the temperature. 

Once the crayon bits have turned completely into a puddle, then very carefully move the solar oven into the shade, or bring it inside where it is cooler. We brought ours inside in the late afternoon. Just to be sure we didn't break any bits that hadn't solidified all the way we waited until the following morning to pull them out of the mold. 

Once they are completely cooled, carefully pull them out of the mold.  

Time to color!

Science Lessons with the Solar Oven

There are so many learning opportunities within this project. You could think about melting point and phase changes. With older children this may lead to further study. Check out this middle school lesson about melting point from the American Chemical Society. Or try this melting point experiment I like to do around Thanksgiving with pop-up poultry timers. 

With younger children a discussion about melting point and phase change could include a simple experiment to see what materials melt in the heat of our hand. Does our hand make as much heat as the Sun? Does a crayon melt in our hand? How about a chocolate chip?  Different materials have different properties. 

We also took the opportunity to discuss why the construction paper had changed color after being exposed to the sun for hours. If this is something you observe, you could continue this study by making nature prints with construction paper and natural objects in the sun. Or you could extend this idea to help answer the question, "Why do we need sunscreen?" and experiment with sunscreen and construction paper. 

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Back to School: Cool Decor for Your Science Classroom

It's back to school time already! Time to get the classroom and homeschool space ready. Here are some inexpensive and creative ideas for decorating your classroom walls. From classy science-themed gallery walls and  informative famous scientist posters to funny science puns, you'll find the goods here! 

You and your students log many hours in your classroom space, so it makes sense to make it a spot you enjoy spending time in! I'm sure you will find something inspiring here. Bonus, many of these are digital downloads so you can use them and print them out year after year.

This post contains affiliate links, meaning I receive a small commission for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. For more information please see disclosures.

Posters for the Science Classroom

I love these colorful and funny science fact posters. For example, did you know a group of porcupines is called a prickle? I think kids will find them super engaging, too. 

Older students will get a kick out of these science pun posters. I love a horribly nerdy science pun, don't you? 

This classy set of science career posters includes intriguing STEM careers such as storm chasers, food chemists and theme park engineers. 

This stunning collection of 24 posters each features an inspirational quote from a famous scientist and watercolor portrait of the scientist.  

8 more engaging posters featuring motivational quotes by inspiring scientists. 

Great Decorating Ideas from Seasoned Science Teachers

Here are some great ideas for decorating the middle school science classroom from Captivate Science. Some of these creative ideas are pre-made, some are DIY and all are tried and true from a fellow science teacher.  

Check out this link for lots of aesthetically pleasing and functional science classroom decorating ideas from the Trendy Science Teacher. 

You'll find several great ideas for incorporating student work into your science classroom decor here. 

Bulletin Boards and Gallery Walls

Looking to set up a new bulletin board? 

I like these "Science Talk" ideas for a bulletin board, which are prompts for science discussion. For example, "A possible result of __________ is ___________." or "I can demonstrate this by __________." You'll find the digital download to print out here. 

Here is a quick and easy printable for Science Safety Rules, would be great for multiple locations in your science lab. 

This classy periodic table inspired "Be Kind" (Beryllium, Potassium, Iodine, Neodymium) sign can be framed for a wall of the room. 

Frame these gorgeous science images for a gallery wall that will really make the room pop! 

This "SCIENCE" decal would be awesome above the whiteboard or classroom door. 

Other Fun Science Classroom Decor

If you're looking for other unique science classroom decor you should check these out: 

DNA Double Helix Pencil Holder 

Quirky Science Squirrel Throw Pillow 

Periodic Table Elements Throw Pillows 

Good luck with your back to school prep! I hope you have a great year! 

Everything you need to track, juggle and thrive all school year. Shop Back to School at Etsy.com.

Freshen up and expand your fall science lessons with these must-have printable downloads. 

Summer Olympics: Science, STEM and STEAM Activities

The summer Olympic games are about to begin in Paris, France and we are so excited. The games teach us so many life lessons: perseverance, camaraderie, grit, trust, hope, sportsmanship, honesty, compassion...etc.

Olympic sports can also teach us some really cool science! In this post I've piled together some fun ideas for Olympic science, STEM and STEAM activities. Perfect for home, camp or summer school while you wait for your favorite summer Olympic sport to compete. 

Olympic Games Science Activities 

First things first, let's light the Olympic torch! Check out this cool static electricity Olympic flame experiment. 

Try this Olympic flame spin on the popular "fireworks in a jar" science activity. 

Experiment with the physics of spinning and reaction time here. 

Learn how to experiment with and build a shot put catapult here. 

You will find a ton of Olympic sports science activities and experiments from Science Sparks here. From javelin throwing to rock climbing, some super projects to keep the kids busy.

Ibex73, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

STEM Activities for the Summer Olympics

This a great article highlighting three approaches to bringing the summer Olympics into your STEM curriculum. 

You'll find a series of videos highlighting engineering in the summer Olympic sports from the National Science Foundation here. 

Here are 10 excellent summer Olympics STEM challenges here. Hours of building and experimenting fun organized for different learning levels. 

Which turf is best for playing certain sports? How does your heart rate compare to an Olympian's? Answer these questions and more with the sports STEM activities here.  

Tons of STEM challenge ideas organized by sport. 

Summer Olympic Inspired STEAM Activities

Get drawing, designing and flex that creativity with these fun and free Olympic game inspired STEAM activities. 

Build an Olympic torch with circuits! 

Use this post to help you build the Olympic rings out of LEGO, or take it a step further and create your own design for an Olympic logo out of your bricks. 

I hope you are inspired to learn while you enjoy your favorite sports! Let the games begin!

10 Reasons to Visit the New England Aquarium

We love visiting zoos, nature centers and aquariums as a family. Years ago I wrote about our trip to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, which was amazing. Recently we were lucky enough to visit the New England Aquarium in Boston, and we had a blast! 

 

It had been a few years since we had visited and we were excited to see some of our old favorites. I could write pages about our day, but instead will highlight 10 reasons why you should visit the New England Aquarium if you have the chance.

African Penguin Colony

 

1. Penguins! One of the first animals you encounter upon entering the New England Aquarium are the endearing African Penguins. A bustling, and sometimes boisterous, group inhabits this enclosure that surrounds the Giant Ocean Tank, the four-story centerpiece to the aquarium. Hailing from temperate habitats, you won't see ice and snow here, but you will see a lot of interesting penguin behavior in the water and on the rocks. 

Photo credit: Vanessa Kahn, New England Aquarium

 

My kids love to learn about each of these penguins. It is easy to do as each is tagged with colorful armbands that serve as identification. Interactive screens located around the African penguin exhibit allow visitors to plug in the colors and location of the tags. Each penguin has a "bio" explaining its name, age, sex, and other interesting facts. 

Giant Ocean Tank

2. The Giant Ocean Tank is the amazing four-story centerpiece of the New England Aquarium. This enormous 200,000 gallon Caribbean reef tank holds hundreds of different fish. My kids loved seeing the giant rays taking their laps and discovering the different types of animals they could spot as we spiraled up towards the top of the tank. 

The aquarium educators at the top of the tank are available to answer questions and its fun to watch the feeding divers too. 

Photo credit: Vanessa Kahn, New England Aquarium

Myrtle the Turtle

 

3. An enormous green sea turtle! In 1970 a green sea turtle named Myrtle came to live at the New England Aquarium. You can still see her there today! It is such a treat to spot this gigantic turtle swimming around the Giant Ocean Tank or coming up to the top of the tank for some lettuce. She is a beautiful and amazing creature, somewhere between 70-90 years old and weighing in at over 500 pounds.

Photo credit: Vanessa Kahn, New England Aquarium

 

Sea Jellies

4. Sea Jellies! Even in a crowded aquarium, watching the Lion's mane jellies is a mesmerizing and calming experience. Native to colder regions of the ocean such as the Arctic and North Pacific, these jellies have a thick "mane" of hair-like tentacles to sting and catch prey such as small fish and crustaceans.

Giant Pacific Octopus

5. A visit to the New England Aquarium gives you the opportunity to see the largest species of octopus on the planet, the giant Pacific octopus. These super intelligent creatures can grow to be 20 feet long. We were lucky to see it put on a bit of a show right near the glass, as they can be a bit elusive. Stunning! 

Photo credit: Vanessa Kahn, New England Aquarium

Sea Lion Show

6. What a treat to watch the California sea lions show off their skills and learn about sea lion handling and training at the show in the Marine Mammal Center.  Not only endearing, intelligent, and entertaining, they are also talented in nature, able to swim faster than any other type of sea lion and dive underwater for up to ten minutes while they search for food. The whole family shared many smiles and laughs during this part of our aquarium visit. 

Please note if you do visit the New England Aquarium that the Marine Mammal Center is an open air exhibit area. It's open year round and if you come during colder months (like we did this time) you'll want to bundle up! 

Greeted by Harbor Seals

7. Before you even enter the aquarium you can observe the Atlantic harbor seal exhibit for free. The harbor seals are located in their enclosure in the front plaza. Get up close and personal with these playful creatures and even learn about them during feedings and training sessions before you even enter the aquarium. 

Photo credit: Vanessa Kahn, New England Aquarium

We enjoyed watching them swim and play in the morning when we arrived, and got a chuckle at them apparently asleep floating in an upright position when we left later in the afternoon. 

Shark and Ray Touch Tank

8. Unfortunately during our visit the Shark and Ray Touch Tank was closed. However, we did stop in the exhibit area to learn about sharks from an aquarium educator. I know if the touch tank had been open that day we would have really enjoyed it, it is a great space and one of few opportunities, unless you purchase a special Animal Encounter, to touch the ocean animals. 

Photo credit: Vanessa Kahn, New England Aquarium

Aquarium Timed Admission

9. The timed admission system at the New England Aquarium was great for planning. We could see how many people had purchased tickets during each of the 20 minute intervals the aquarium was open. We were able to plan exactly when we wanted to go in the night before. Admission was smooth and we entered the aquarium quickly without waiting in line. 

Parking in Boston can be tricky, however, there are several parking garages in close proximity to the aquarium. Several of them participate in parking validation at the visitor's desk in the aquarium. We used SpotHero and would highly recommend it. You can reserve a spot in a garage ahead of time, in some cases at a discounted rate, no searching for parking once you arrive! 

Location, Location, Location: Central Wharf

10. The New England Aquarium is located on Central Wharf, right on Boston Harbor. A great locale for a summer stroll on a part of Boston's Harborwalk, good eats, duck tours, lots of history, and close proximity to other great museums such at the Boston Children's Museum and the Boston Museum of Science. A great area to visit for a lot of learning and family fun. 

 

STEAM Summer: Online Camps and DIY Activities for Summer Vacation

School is out! Do you have kids at home this summer? Maybe you will be teaching at a STEAM summer camp. I know that you will be eager for activities that minimize screen time and maximize creative thinking and some ingenuity. Even better if those activities are affordable, planned out and don't need a bunch of crazy materials. Good news, we have got you covered with tons of STEAM activities, online STEAM and science camps, and even a STEAM inspired summer survival freebie! 

Get ready for a fun and engaging summer of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math!

This post contains affiliate links meaning I receive a small commission for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. See disclosures for more information.

Online STEAM Camps

I'm over the moon excited to be offering 2 online STEAM and science summer camps on Outschool this summer. They are designed to teach kids fun activities that they can do independently outside of brief, live online sessions. You can see all of my Outschool science and STEAM class listings in addition to coupon codes here.

Nature Art, Science and Engineering

In Nature Art Camp: Art, Science, and Engineering Fun! kids aged 8-12 will will tap into their love of nature and inner artist. In this three-day camp, students will be inspired to engineer and build rock sculptures, experiment to make their own nature watercolors and natural paintbrushes, explore well-known nature artists and create their own nature journals. 

New students can try any course or camp on Outschool, not only mine, for $20 off by using my referral code: MSSARAH2020.

Any student can save $10 on either of my camps with coupon code SARAHCAMP10 until Aug 31, 2024. Get started here and enter the coupon code at checkout.

Spy Science for Kids!

In Spies and CSI's in Training: Science Camp kids aged 7-11 will discover 2 different kid-safe techniques for making and revealing invisible secret messages, as well as the science behind them. They will learn methods for creating codes and ciphers. Learners will find out all about fingerprints and learn an easy way to take a fingerprint (without ink!) to create their own fingerprint database. 

New students can try any course or camp on Outschool, not only mine, for $20 off by using my referral code: MSSARAH2020

Any student can save $10 on either of my camps with coupon code SARAHCAMP10 until Aug 31, 2024. Get started here and enter the coupon code at checkout.

Fun STEAM Activities for Summer

Summer is the perfect time to engage your kids, campers or students in some Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math. These STEM and STEAM activities will get them thinking, engage them for extended periods of time and can be extended beyond the original activity. Bonus, a lot of the materials can be found around the house!

Check out these favorites:

• Design, engineer, build and cook in your own solar oven!
• Build your own"cold-blooded" creatures with temperature sensitive dough
• Monsters and Mold food science experiment
• Make a light-up firefly life-cycle diagram with paper circuitry
• Create some sculptures out of nature with these engineering challenges
• Design and build a seed model- more nature inspired engineering!
• Create your own insect investigation
• Build your own zoetrope and create some animation
• Make your own light-up board game

The Ultimate STEAM Summer Survival Guide Freebie

Check out this freebie from Green Kid Crafts: The Ultimate STEAM Summer Survival Guide. There are some super ideas for engaging summer fun in this 11-page guide. 

If you are looking for fun STEAM activities sent right to your mailbox, check out a subscription to Green Kid Crafts this summer. 

The first box of the summer is an awesome dive into electricity: What is electricity? What's a circuit? Ohm’s Law? Kids will find the answers as they build an electric propeller car, learn how motors work, engineer their own fiber optic lights, connect circuits and build their own food powered clock! Use code SUMMER15 at checkout to get 15% off any monthly plan.

DIY STEAM Camp Ideas for Home or Traditional Camp 

If you want to create your own STEAM camp experience at home, or try some new ideas for a camp you are working with this summer, look no further. 

We are big fans of the STEAM Kids books, and love this Camp STEAM digital resource for 5 days of STEAM activities for kids ages 4-10. It's all planned out for you, easy peasy!

These are also great free resources for summer STEM and STEAM activities! 

Check out a great collection of summer STEM activities here. 

Fun ideas for DIY STEM at this link. 

Another plan for STEAM summer camp.

STEM activities from Backyard Summer Camp.

STEM activities for summer camps.

Plant a "Garden Friends" Themed Garden for Kids [Seed Giveaway!]

Gardening with children is rewarding for adults and children alike. It can teach important science principles such as life cycles, botany, wildlife habitats, food webs and ecosystems. It is also full of character-building life lessons like a sense of place and responsibility, sustainability and self-sufficiency. 

Planning and growing a themed garden is a great way to get children excited about their plants. In the past we have explored growing a Pizza or Taco garden, growing an Alphabet garden and growing a Rainbow or Pollinator garden. This time around we are going to give you some inspiration for a "Garden Friends" themed garden, otherwise known as companion planting.

This post contains affiliate links meaning I make a small commission from purchases made from these links at no additional cost to you. See disclosures for more information.  

We are also excited to be hosting a Renee's Garden seed giveaway. If you aren’t already familiar with Renee’s Garden seeds, I highly recommend exploring their offerings as you plan your garden. I love all of the unique varieties. With unusual heirlooms and plants that thrive in containers and small spaces they offer many good choices for a small home garden or school garden.

You will find details and the giveaway entry form at the bottom of this post.

Garden Friends: What is Companion Planting?

Companion planting is the concept of growing plants that compliment each other or are helpful to one another together. For example, planting something that grows tall, like peas on a trellis, where they can shade a friend that needs cooler conditions like lettuce from the mid-day sun. 

Plants can be friends because one repels or traps insect pests that are damaging to another. Planting basil around tomato plants can deter tomato pests. Planting flowers like nasturtium act as attractive insect traps. 

Plant friends can be those that do not compete for the same nutrients in the soil. Radishes that grow quickly and grow to shallow depths can be grown with carrots that grow deeper in the soil.  

 

The Three Sisters

An ancient method of companion planting comes from the Native Americans. Originating in North America around 3,000 years ago, corn, beans and squash were some of the first garden friends. Each plant has features that are beneficial to the others. 

Corn provides support as it grows tall and strong like a trellis. Beans add nitrogen to the soil and can climb the corn stalks. Squash is planted at the base to protect the beans and corn. The large squash leaves help provide shade and hold moisture in the ground. The shading of the squash can help prevent weed growth. Prickly squash stems can deter pests.

The Three Sisters garden is magical as it is like its own self-sustaining ecosystem. You can tell the native story of the Three Sisters to your students or children to inspire the planting of these three crops together. Scroll through this post to read the story and learn how to plant your three sisters garden.

 

Learn how you can win a pack of Native American Three Sisters Seeds at the end of this post! This big bonus pack of seeds from Renee's Garden Seeds includes Earth Tones Indian Dent Corn, Rattlesnake Bean and Sugar Pie Pumpkin seeds. 

Kids Gardening has Three Sisters lesson plans available when you sign up for their newsletter (which I highly recommend!) You can find the Three Sisters Lesson plan resource here. 

Pairs of Garden Friends to Plant

Here are some plant pairings that make good garden friends. Some of these are based on science, some based on folklore, but all make beautiful and tasty gardens! 

 

Cucumbers and Nasturtium- Grow cucumbers up a trellis with nasturtium down below to repel and trap pests. Nasturtium flowers are pretty and edible. They taste a bit like a radish.

Potatoes and Garlic- Garlic helps to keep away pests! 

Broccoli and Oregano- the Oregano serves as an insecticide

Carrots and Chives- Chives improve carrot growth and flavor as well as well as deterring pests

Lettuce and Radishes- radishes trap insect pests

Peas and Alyssum- Alyssum helps to bring in beneficial pollinators

Melons or Squash and Dill- Dill flowers attract beneficial insects

Tomatoes and Basil- Basil repels some pests, including helping to prevent tomato hornworm.

 

The list could go on and on! Check out the Farmers Almanac for an extensive list of good garden friends.

 

Garden Planning

Gardening with kids can be such a blast. My friend Christina at Little Sprouts Learning is a master at gardening with children. You can grab her helpful garden planner here as well as some other helpful resources for kids.

 

There is more to gardening than just the plants and seeds! Kids love to decorate garden markers and using them helps them to learn their plants. Kids can design their own with these blank bamboo garden markers. These 3-D printed garden markers are so colorful and these bright vegetable shaped markers would be great for a kid's themed garden. 

You might also want to invest in a sturdy kid-sized set of garden tools like this for digging and exploring throughout the growing season. 

Win a Native American Three Sisters Garden Seed Pack!

 

Enter below to win a Native American Three Sisters Garden Seed Pack from Renee's Garden Seeds. This giveaway starts March 23rd, 2024 and ends at midnight March 29th, 2024. The winner will be announced in our newsletter, listed on this post and notified by e-mail once the giveaway has ended. 

 

Must be a United States resident to enter, for further terms and conditions see Rafflecopter box below.

 

 

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