The sun was shining. The kids– lots of kids– were outside.
It was simple and inexpensive and fun.
Bamboo (harvested in advance from a grateful neighbor’s yard)
Kudzu (pulled by kids from the edges of the schoolyard)
A ball of string
A bale of straw
Two ladders, some pruners and 5 volunteer moms.
- We can build three teepees and connect them with tunnels.
Over the course of a morning, second and fourth graders at Fort Belvoir Elementary School came out by classes and built a structure that included three teepees and two tunnels. In the end, more than 200 children had worked on the project.
We removed some invasive plants and in the process kids learned a little bit about what invasives are:
“Plants that don’t belong here and are taking over”
A happy teacher:
“They’re learning teamwork, they’re solving problems and everyone is happy and busy.”
And the ripple effect:
“This was easy, I’m going to try this at home,” said a mom.
