And that tough audience are 40 7 and 8 year olds at the kids school. Eeeeek again. They are currently studying rocks and soil and as a jobbing gardener, the deputy head thought I would be the ideal person to have in and talk to the kids about soil. Problem is, I take it for granted, so trying to type something up which would interest a budding geologist is a struggle. I am doing it next Tuesday so I fear several late nights and lots of book reading to try and make this as fun as I can. Eeeeeek some more!
Good luck EJ. That is a tough crowd. You can study all you want but you will never be prepared for some of the questions they will ask, they can come up with some doozies. Several years ago when my youngest was in elementary school I started doing talks to each years 3rd grade classes about quilts. The first one was nerve wracking but each year they seemed to enjoy seeing all the quilts I took for show and tell. I also sneeked some geometry into the talk too which the teachers appreciated.
You can do it! I have all the faith in the world in you Deanna :-D I'm just glad it's you and not me!!!
EJ rather you than me. I'm too much of a coward to face 40 kids all on my own. You must let us know all the details of how it goes - especially the questions the little darlings ask you. Good luck - you are one brave lady.
What a way to eeeek-out a living, Emma. Good luck. With your knowledge and background I believe that you will find the words to make an interesting and informative presentation. C'mon now kid.... apply yerself and give them a good show. Will you use some slides to illustrate your points? I recall when I was a child, I always liked slides and films as well as a charismatic speaker. Oh yes... and flash that winning smile a time or two.
You will do a great job EJ. Good luck to you... and I am glad it is you and not me! When I was working and had to give power point presentations, I basically froze. I hated that with a passion, but you will pass with flying colors!!
Bring treats!!! Kids are the toughest audiences so win them over with a tempting rock or dirt-themed dessert. And be sure to have props that you can display and talk about. Be sure to let us know how it goes!
Now come on EJ, you are one tough cookie and with all your gardening experience I am confident you will sail through this challenge. Good luck and let us know how it goes :-D
When my children were little, one of their teachers asked me to talk to them about growing hydroponically. She was one of my neighbors and had wondered how I had vegetable plants well before the local nursery started selling them. I spoke to one class of 30 third graders and before long, other teachers asked me to visit their classes (different grade levels so I changed my presentations often). I always had a houseful of kids so I pretended that the classes were just extra kids visiting and it helped me relax. The kids liked presentations that included things to see, touch, feel, smell. They liked being asked to volunteer information. I included handouts that they could take home that usually included little bits of gardening trivia and a silly joke or two as well as a brief overview of whatever we discussed that day. If they feel you enjoy your subject, you like speaking with them and they are not being lectured, they will enjoy whatever you have to say. Kids are curious little people and they soak up interesting things. I agree with kaseylib, a rock or dirt themed snack is a great idea. Just check with school first. I think you will be wonderful- enjoy yourself!
you could make rock buns! they taste delicious and even i can make them easily maybe you could use splenda instead of sugar in case there are any diabetic kiddies there not sure how you would get around ones with gluten problems hmmm, I am sure you will do just fine, kids love to be taught esecially think how much they will love soil they adore getting dirty now they have an excuse !
I agree with some of the others...if you have some different types of soil around in your area...take some small plastic containers and fill them with the different types and ask each one of them to do a little investigating at home to see what type they have in the yard...gets their minds thinking...I have 2 granddaughters that are 9 and they ask the darndest questions...we have red clay in some areas here, sand not too far away and black in areas...just an idea for you if you didn't come up with it already....Sherry You could also put it all in one jar, in layers and mark each one.
I just remembered something I took with me for the kiddos when I did the quilt talk. I made two puzzle sheets for the teacher to pass out later. One was a sheet of paper with the word PATCHWORK at the top with some quilt block designs I drew around the edges and they had to see how many words they could make from the word patchwork and the other was a Word Search puzzle that I made for them. Kids that age love the word puzzles and the teachers appreciate it too.
