Upper Grade Memoirs: Wildflowers in the Spring

Welcome to Upper Grade Memoirs. I'm Sandy Cangelosi of Sweet Integrations. This month our theme is "spring activities and ideas." Our group of bloggers will share ideas, memories and activities focused around spring.

If you live in the south (in my case, Texas) your favorite time of the year is probably spring with the blooming of the brightly colored flowers. It's definitely mine. The wildflowers here in the hill country are magnificent this year.

In Austin, we are proud to have the Lady Bird Wildflower Research Center. Lady Bird helped establish the Wildflower Center as a way to help scientists study the uses and effects of wildflowers. Scientists also collect the collect the seeds of those wildflowers that are becoming extinct.

I recently went to the Wildflower Center and took beautiful pictures of the native plants, gardens, ponds, streams, a butterfly garden and A GREAT-HORNED OWL. (If you look closely below, the owl is sitting on the ledge to the right of the cactus.) There's also a new family garden which is full of activities, a waterfall and a learning center.

Before you visit the Wildflower Center or study about wildflowers or native plants, I highly recommend this book. Miss Lady Bird's Wildflowers tells about Lady Bird Johnson's life and her love of wildflowers. I'll always cherish this book because it was given to me by her family.

“The environment is where we all meet; where all have a mutual interest;

it is the one thing all of us share.

It is not only a mirror of ourselves, but a focusing lens on what we can become.”

- Lady Bird Johnson

I have suggestions for a few spring activities that include wildflowers or native plants.

1. Take a digital nature walk - You can plan a scavenger hunt and tell students what they need to photo or students can take pictures on their own and choose their own topic. The images can be imported into a slideshow and share the finished products with the class.

2. Wildflower Poetry - Choose several pictures for the students to write poems. With April being Poetry Month, it's a great opportunity for students to write and learn about different types of poems.

3. Wildflower Legends - Every year, I use this time to study legends. Tomie de Paola has two wonderful books about wildflowers. The Legend of the Bluebonnet and The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush are favorites. After completing the book study, students can even write their own legend about a favorite wildflower.

4. Plant Study - Use wildflowers and native plants as the focus of your plant study. Students can dissect flowers to learn about different parts, plant seeds and visit different sites about plants and wildflowers.