Do you, your kids, or your students enjoy playing in the dirt? Planting bulbs and watching them grow? Want a new way to interact with and teach your students in an outdoor setting?

The Bulb Project is a great way for educators to get their students outside and learning about science, art, history, and more while growing our environment. This is a great project for schools, after-school programs, home schooling, community programs and more.

The Bulb Project has awarded grants worth $250 to supply bulbs to projects around the country, creating a variety of exciting, original and active activities for students of all ages. Educators collaborate with local retail partners using flower bulbs to:

• Establish creative plantings, including a living flower bed quilt, a labyrinth, and rainbows of blooms.
• Conduct scientific research, including testing the effect of growth regulators on flower bulbs, tracking the arrival of spring, and experimenting with bulbs for low-water-use, green landscaping.
• Create special gardens to foster teamwork, inter-generational relationships, conflict resolution and peacemaking.
• Integrate flower bulb activities with all aspects of the curriculum -- from language and art to science and math.

The students at The McGillis School recently received a grant and participated in The Bulb Project. The Stars of David, the theme for The McGillis School Bulb Project, integrates science and art for students in grades 1 through 8. The students studied, designed, and planted Persian Buttercups and Ranunculus asiaticus in the xeriscaped school garden of the new LEED-certified middle-school addition. The students will study the cells of the root system, which form interlocking Stars of David, and learn how the plants cope with drought and heat. The planting will reflect the school’s Jewish values of Tikun Olam, repair the world, and will be used as a teaching tool for green building and landscaping.

The students are excited to see their flowers bloom, and will be documenting the journey of the bulbs. Be sure to check back for updates on the flower, and see how The Star of David comes to life.