Growing Green Kids City & Systems Engineering Design Challenge™ Welcome to the Growing Green Kids City & Systems Engineering Design Challenge™! This playful lesson series is designed especially for kids and families practicing “social distancing” during March/April of 2020. All ages are welcome to participate. Science, math, reading, art, engineering, social studies, leadership and more are all tied together in […]
December 2019 Water and Salt Dance Party When water and salt get together its like a dance party! When we mix salt with water there are ways we can use chemistry tricks to our human advantage… but that can turn into a party-gone-bad in certain situations too. Find out more here, even a tasty experiment […]
3 Lessons from the 2019 State Fair STATE FAIR LESSON 1: Pronto Pups & Liatris. Don’t those Blazing Star prairie plants look like giant purple pronto pups? One lesson from the fair that I saw over and over again is that PLAY IS POWERFUL for people of all ages. From the Midway to art exhibits, giant […]
Kids leading with seeds, plants & nature play! Plants as Superheroes is a package project for your school, child care center, library, or community group. Growing Green Hearts works will adapt the environmental STEM learning for age group, site, and even intergenerational groups. Growing Green Hearts is all about play, learning, and loving nature. And […]
Growing Green Hearts at Augsburg Youth Theology Institute AYTI stands for Augsburg Youth Theology Institute and it’s a long-standing tradition! Growing Green Hearts partnered with Augsburg University in hosting 35 high schoolers from around the country in exploration of vocation using the AYTI 2019 theme… The letter below was written in July by Heidi Ferris, […]
What’s so special about the Blaine Wetland Sanctuary? Imagine a giant sponge that goes as deep as 60 feet, where mid-July there is still ice. Blaine Wetland Sanctuary (BWS) is an open space, natural area that includes specialized wetland called a fen. A fen is a type of wetland with a high water table and […]
Growing Green Hearts has partnered with the City of Blaine, Minnesota, in creation of environmental STEM programming and curriculum for their Blaine Wetland Sanctuary. The Blaine Wetland Sanctuary is a playful place to exercise for many people. It’s also a living science research lab for many; and for even more people- it’s a peaceful place […]
Weird, Wonder-Filled Science Happenings for Kids this Fall Autumn has arrived! Celebrate natural changes by investigating these 4 happenings (phenomena) with children. Lead with exploration of a leaf pile, a hike, unstructured time with loose parts such as leaves, crisp fall air, dried grasses, squash and frosty grass. Emphasize the use of our senses. Collect their observations. […]
Stop the Vacation on Vocation: Do Science Literacy at Your Church By Heidi Ferris, Growing Green Hearts, LLC How can we lift up church youth leadership and empower youth in using their stories, relationships, vocational call, science knowledge, and problem-solving processes together at church? Let’s start with one of the most defining gatherings of […]
Play while problem-solving… Catching a fish is something everyone should experience as a kid! To go fishing, you don’t need a fancy boat or guide, just a lake or river spot, a little gear, bait and some luck. Kids enjoy the playfulness of trying different materials and designs just as much as dipping the […]
