Gardeners of the Galaxy

Volume IV

Written by: Mrs. Schell's and Miss Wise's

Eighth Period Classes

Preview audio:

storyj.mp/ab6asgfwase6

Cover Art by: Mrs. Desiree Schell

Back Cover Art by: Marco Rey, Fourth Grader

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the written consent of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing, 2016

The edition first published by www.storyjumper.com

StoryJumper, Inc. 850 E Greenwich Pl Plato Alto CA 94303

Foreword

This outdoor learning experience incorporated lessons from Language Arts, Reading, Science, and Health. To further this lesson for our students, this project also met the social and emotional needs of our truly gifted learners, which has led to the publishing of these stories. Our hope is that our students have bonded and formed lifelong friendships, in addition to gaining more of an appreciation for learners of all ages and nature itself.

Table of Contents

1. Jemma & Gita....................p. 5

2. Kayla, Nati, & Paige M......p. 10

3. Jenna & Margaret............ p. 16

4. Marielle & Allison............ p. 20

5. Weston & Marlowe..........p. 24

6. Anna & Sophie.................p. 27

7. Troy, Dylan, & Paige F.....p. 31

8. Nora & Katie.....................p. 34

9. Sam & James....................p. 38

10. Kaiden & Delaney.........,p. 41

11. Sophie & Tian Jiao......p. 44

12. Emma & Lauren.........p. 49

13. Alexa & Gabriele........p. 52

14. Areesh & Zackery......p. 56

15. Kai & Love..................p. 61

16. Edwin & Kody.............p. 64

17. Nate & Griffin............p. 67

18. Olivia & KK.................p. 71

19. Acknowlegements....p. 75

Jemma & Gita

It was a day like any other when we met in Miss Wise’s classroom. We acted very shy because we didn’t know each other. Apparently, our task is to publish a book together. Neither of us had any idea where to begin. So we decided to get to know each other after realizing this story was about us. As we kept on working together, we began to understand the value of this project.

The first time I met my buddy, Gita, I was feeling nervous because I had never mentored someone before. After spending some time with her and getting to know her, I became more comfortable. I thought she was very polite and I knew when I met her she would be fun to work with. I’m glad that I was given the opportunity to mentor and work together with someone.

I felt very glad and excited when I met Jemma because she could teach me well. I was shy at first though, because I didn’t know if she could help me a lot. Later on when I got to know her better, I became closer to her. I thought she was nice, just like my brother. My brother is very helpful and thinks of me a lot. For example, he sacrifices and shares things with me. When he wanted to learn how to play the violin, he asked me if I wanted to learn first. I said yes, and after he gained a little bit of experience he started to teach me.

I found out Gita and I both want to study the mind when we grow up, which I think would be exciting because maybe one day we might end up working together. I thought it was interesting that we want to possibly study the same thing when we grow up. Since we are already acting as partners now, if we end up seeing each other in the future, it wouldn’t be as complicated.

Jemma and I both like playing the piano. Even though she spends more time on it than me, because she takes lessons regularly, we both have an interest in it. We both have a strong passion for music in general, and I think it is great that we both have a taste in something similar.

I first thought the fact that we had a garden at our school was amazing in itself. Ithink it’s great to have a place where we can grow fruits and vegetables to eat. I’ve never been to a school that has an actual garden, even though I’ve only been to three schools throughout my life.

When I came to the garden, I was thinking of our field trip to the O’ Brien Family Farms. I was remembering everything I learned there. I was introduced to hydroponics, which is basically aquatic nature. It also reminded me of the yummy strawberries they had! I think the garden is just as interesting. I like it when I can tie my lessons together, as they mean more to me that way.

I learned that Gita plays the violin, like her brother. I like how she wants to follow her brothers’ footsteps, because I follow my brothers’ footsteps too. I can see her being in orchestra when she’s in sixth grade. I like it that we can both look up to our brothers.

My buddy, Jemma, told me she likes playing the drums. I can tell she has a very strong passion for it because I’ve heard her play before in band and I knew that she liked it a lot just by the look on her face. She even told me that she came in early before school started just to play

percussion in band.

I realized that the whole purpose of this project is to understand people by communicating in a relaxing environment. When everyone is crammed in a classroom, you hear everyone talk, and teachers have to constantly tell you to be quiet. While in the garden, I feel more relaxed and free to express my thoughts. Gita and I feel more peaceful working in the garden. Speaking of Gita, we have a lot in common, which I find very coincidental. For example, we’re both Asian, and that means that we both follow similar traditions and eat similar food. I don’t know many people that have a lot in common with me, so it’s cool to meet someone else that does.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned throughout this whole project, it’s the value of it. For me, I feel more comfortable working outside because it makes me feel calm. I thought it was great working in the garden with Jemma in this type of environment. She and I work together very well. I feel like she has the same thinking as me because every idea we have when we’re working on our essay has been similar. When we were contemplating examples of what to say in our other

paragraphs, we had the same thoughts. And, because we have a lot in common, the whole writing process goes faster. We also both have the same interests, and I’m happy I got her as my partner.

Gita and I both dream that there will be peace throughout the world. We both hope that there will be no more fighting in the future because if there’s no fighting that means that we can all work together on things and advance this world.

We also want a new plant to be created in the garden. We want oranges to be planted, because it is both of our favorite fruits, but also because they are healthy for everyone! In the future, we both believe that the world will improve, and we will assist with trying to fix all of the problems that have happened to our planet. Hopefully, we can make our world a better place to live in for our own children, and for future generations.

Written by: Jemma Desiongco and Gita Upendram

Kayla, Nati, & Paige M.

After reading the book Seedfolks, Mrs. Schell and Ms. Wise’s fourth grade class decided to partner up to write and publish this book about our time in the garden. Me and my classmate Kayla both had to share a fourth grader named Paige, and this is a story about our time together in the garden.

When I first met my buddy Paige, I thought it was going to be an interesting experience with someone younger than me. She had bright red cheeks and nice blonde hair and I’m glad I made another friend. (I also kind of thought she was kind of short for a fourth grader at first.)

The first time I met my buddy, Paige, I was excited and thought it would be fun to mentor a

younger kid. I thought she was really cute when I met her. She looked like me in the sense that we were both really quiet but after we opened up to each other, we became good friends. Now every time we see each other at school, we say “Hi”.

The first time I met my garden buddies, Kayla and Nati, I was anxious because I wasn’t sure what my time with them would be like. I also felt excited because I was hoping I would get good partners. I was worried I might be paired up with a control-freak or someone who doesn’t listen to me. Turns out I did and I feel very relieved!

In the garden, Paige and I both really enjoyed the strawberries. We also both liked walking around the garden and sampling food from it. The fourth time we were with our fourth grader we sampled things in the garden. Everything we tried tasted really good.

Both my partner and I all like to eat tomatoes, love nature, and like to stay in the garden. When we got to sample the food we took lots of tomatoes and enjoyed to watch the nature while we worked on our writings. We both enjoyed looking at the flowers and picked tomatoes for

ourselves. We also both loved the sunflowers because they had a honey-gold center and bright yellow crispy petals. They were as bright as the sun we both said.

My garden buddy Nati and I really like to eat strawberries. My other garden buddy Kayla really hate chives and love the color teal. When I first tried chives I spit it out as soon as it was in my mouth. And ever since I was five I have loved the color teal. When the tray of strawberries came around, I took as many as I could hold. It was funny when Nati tried taking three strawberries, he got caught and the helper said, “You have to leave some strawberries for the fourth graders!” I found this funny because I took about seven and I didn’t get caught!

The beginning of my impression in the garden was that there was a lot of rich, greens of all colors. When I first arrived, the food was at an early stage, but I could tell it would be a magnificent garden.

My first impression of the garden was I thought it was pretty and that all the variety of colors were beautiful. One day the garden will grow to become even more colorful. Every time I walk

past the garden me and my friends always admire it and say how pretty it is. The garden is very appealing to my eyes.

When I first saw the garden I was very surprised at all the color. I was amazed I just couldn’t believe my eyes. There were bright red juicy tomatoes, rich green cucumbers, and bright red strawberries under a layer of thick green leaves.

When I was working with my buddy Paige in my garden setting, I was determined that she is resourceful and has excessive knowledge in the garden. She was even able to find good places to sit and write in the garden without being too uncomfortable.

While we were working in the garden I had learned that my buddy is really pretty and is very smart. Even though the seats aren’t the most comfortable the sight of the garden makes up for it. Both of my partners are very kind buddies.

When me and my buddies were working in the garden I had realized a lot about my buddies like that they’re both very nice and friendly. Kayla always has a braid in her hair, and a smile that

can light up a whole town. Nati is always wearing glasses, and always wears a gold necklace.

One insight I gained working and writing with my partner in the garden, was that a garden takes time and effort to grow and it can be studied very immensely gaining extensive knowledge of plant and animal life.

An insight I gained from working with our partner is that she likes flowers but wishes there was more shade in the garden. Also, the garden will grow to be beautiful someday. It is fun to work in the garden, even though it is hot.

From the garden I learned that a garden can bring people together and make close friendships. When we first came to the garden we were all uneasy and didn’t know each other, but we all grew a bond.

One hope or dream me and my buddy Paige share is that we both wish to have a family and kids like a seed growing into a tree with many branches.

A hope or dream me and my buddy Paige share is that we all want to be rich like the richness

of a rich green lettuce leaf. We all want to have different types of jobs when we get older, but we still all get along very well.

My buddies and I both want to be successful in life like a small garden of seeds growing into a powerful and pretty garden. I want to be a fighter jet pilot in the air force which is my version of successful but Nati wants to be a doctor and Kayla wants to be a storm chaser and weather reporter. We have learned that just like the garden starting with dirt and sprouts, we too have a long way to grow into our chosen studies and career paths. We hope to enjoy gardens of all types along our journey to successes!

Written by: Natanel Mizrahi, Kayla Orr, and Paige Miller

Jenna & Margaret

The first time I saw my buddy, Margaret, I quickly realized that she was awesome! I knew because we had a reading assignment, and she chose the scarier sounding prompt. Apparently, we both like scary things! At first I was scared that we would not get along, but by her great sense of humor and enthusiasm, I knew that we would get along fine!

The first time I met my garden buddy, Jenna, I knew we were going to be friends. It was obvious she was nice because of her big smile. I was right, she was really kind. She had blonde hair and a blue shirt she also had brown eyes. When I first met Jenna, my impression was that she would be nice.

It turns out, Margaret and I have a lot in common! For one, we have a common interest:

lobster! Margaret has only had lobster once, but I have it every year on my birthday! I love lobster about as much as Margaret and I love roller-coasters! Our favorite part about the garden is when we get to eat the food that we grow.

I learned that Jenna and I like to play sports. No wonder she was exhausted today, I am usually SO tired after getting home from tennis. I’d assume Jenna is also tired after circus practice. We both love sushi and have the favorite subject of math! We both love to go to Universal Studios!

As I entered the garden, I was overwhelmed by all of the amazing colors. The red of the tomatoes, the green of the broccoli, and the yellow of the blossoms. It was very pretty! The prettiest, I think though, was the purple-red of the rhubarb.

As soon as I stepped into the garden, I was amazed. It was extremely well kept and the smell was great. The tomatoes smelled especially awesome and reminded me of when my mom makes my favorite tomato salad. The tea garden we planted was the best part of all because of its sweet fragrance.

While working in the garden, I took new knowledge that my partner plays the violin for the Sarasota Youth Orchestra! I also learned that she partakes in playing tennis. Her favorite vegetable is broccoli. We grow that in the garden also!

I figured out that Jenna does the circus. She does web, which is an awesome, rope-looking act, hammock, silks, and an act that I have never heard of called advanced trap. She also likes broccoli. Yummy!!!

One insight we gained from working in the garden was responsibility. You need responsibility to take care of the plants. Another thing that we learned is that we need to be careful around each other and in the garden. We can use this lesson outside of the garden for many things such as doing homework on time, doing the dishes at home, and making sure to study for tests!

One dream both of us wish to accomplish in the future is to someday be professional performers, I in the circus and Margaret in the orchestra. We also wish to be successful at gardening. For example, planting tomatoes, herbs, and making tea. The garden taught us the

importance of teamwork and how we need it to be successful!

Written by: Jenna Wynne and Margaret Toth

Marielle & Allison

The day that Mrs. Schell told us that we were working with fourth graders, I was excited yet nervous at the same time I had never mentored someone before. When I first met my buddy, Allison, I thought it was pretty cool that I got paired with someone like me. We both have darker sides and love animals. I remember the first thing she said to me when we were working in the Storyworks magazine she said, “I want to do the one about the twister it seems dark and mysterious.” I was very glad that my buddy was outgoing and that she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, she reminded me of myself when I was younger.

When I first met my buddy, Marielle, I learned that she likes to have fun during work time. For

instance, when we had our first assignment. I thought at first “Yay! Someone with red hair so, I could see what red hair looks like with blue eyes instead of the people on magazines.”

Some commonalities that we have are that we both have blue eyes and love the color turquoise. We get along well because we have a similar sense of humor. Some other commonalities we have are that we both like “Star Wars”, the light side, and we both are dark and bruiting like Batman.

When I first saw the garden I thought it was cute and I liked that we were growing tea because I love tea. I couldn’t wait till we finally got to make and drink our own tea. When I looked at the rest of the garden I liked seeing other teachers participating in gardening with their classes.

When I first saw the garden, I thought it was quite small for a box garden. When I looked at the plants they were small and the soil was dry, but the plant I planted in a separate pot was practically drowning in water.

After a while in doing classwork in the garden I learned that my fourth grade buddy likes to

about funny things that happened. Also, she is very creative and loves to doodle. When in the garden one day we were looking at our plot and she started to draw an image of the plants that were growing and I thought it was a very creative way of picturing the garden.

After a while in the garden doing classwork, I discovered that my seventh grade buddy is very protective of her things and likes to have fun. I learned that my buddy likes tomatoes and she also likes fun phone cases, like the case she had on her phone when I first met her was a little Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc., and then she had a really cool hourglass case that she said counted 30 seconds.

One insight I gained from working in the garden is that when working together with people younger than you, sort of get a chance to teach them and help them with problems in a way they would never think was possible. I extremely enjoyed working with my fourth grader because I saw that she didn’t really like to do work that required a lot of focus and exact answers and I am that way as well so I liked sharing my ideas and ways of studying with her. For instance, when the

FSAs were coming up the fourth graders were told to ask the seventh graders for tips, I told Allison not to stress and to make sure that she takes her time.

One insight I gained from working and writing together in the garden was that it creates friendships and lets us have fun with creating inside jokes that we will remember forever.

A hope or dream that we both share is that we both grow our artistic skills to become an artist when we are old enough. We both love painting, drawing, and a lot of other mediums of art. The garden was a fun way of getting together with younger and older students and knowing that we will always be there for each other.

Written by: Marielle Newmark and Allison Layendecker

Weston & Marlowe

The day I left my class I was relieved to escape schoolwork. I wasn’t so excited to meet the person I worked with, well at least not at first. We helped them work on an essay and I never thought that we would be doing the garden until later that month.

The first time I met my garden buddy, I was excited, to meet a new friend. We learned a lot about each other and we found out we are a lot In common. I am really glad that I am his friend because I don’t meet friends often.

When we went to the garden for the first time we learned that we had a lot in common. We both dislike kale very much, but we both like broccoli.We also learned we both like mint, but we both dislike tomatoes. We just dislike the taste. We enjoy smelling dill. I don’t know how to

describe the smell it is just pleasing.

When I first went to the garden I wasn’t very impressed by its size. But later, I found that size doesn’t matter when it comes to gardens. The garden still grew amazing produce. Then mint from the garden was amazing.

I thought the garden was wonderful, it smelled delicious. Like flowers, and my mom’s kitchen which is where her spices are located. The wonderful smells entered my nose the second I first entered the garden. The first thing I ate was a type of mint. It was delicious. Then I ate kale and didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would have.

I learned a lot about my buddy Marlowe in the magnificent garden. I learned that Marlowe like hip hop music. He also likes drawing. He loves drawling whatever comes to his mind. He is funny and always makes me laugh.

I learned a lot about him in the garden, such as our commonalities. We both enjoy the same games. I learned that he likes origami and making things out of paper too.

He also likes video games just like me!

One insight we gained from this experience is how people can make a big difference to our environment easily with a little bit of help. Even if we only plant one tree it helps by producing oxygen and this keeps the world and all its animals healthy.

A common dream we both share is that we both want to influence the people of the world. By this we want to in any way possible, no matter how hard. If it means inventing something, we’ll do it to improve the Earth. It could be a drone that flies around the world, tending to plants and reducing global warming. If it’s creating a YouTube channel we’ll do it. Even the smallest thing helps keep this world in balance.

Written by: Weston and Marlowe

Anna & Sophie

The day I first met my garden buddy, I remember walking into the fourth grade classroom with excitement and nervousness. I looked around and wondered who I would spend the next few weeks with. I was filled with joy when I heard Sophie’s name called to be my partner! We got along immediately and I knew that this project would leave me with new stories and a new friend.

When I first met my garden buddy, Sophie, I was very excited. Having a fourth grade buddy to work with in a garden was a very new experience. I always love to work with and tutor younger students. I thought that the idea of writing a book based off a garden was interesting too. When I first met my garden buddy, Anna, I was very joyful because I had never worked with an older student before, and it was a very new experience for me. I had never had a school that works

with buddies in a garden.

Sophie and I both love tea and nature. Even though we didn’t have too much in common, we get along very well. We always laugh at things and have a good time. Anna and I both have annoying little brothers. One time when I was letting my painting dry, my brother came over with a sharpie and drew all over it! He almost ruined it, but thankfully I was able to paint over it. I’m so glad Anna isn’t like that!

I thought the garden was really interesting. I felt that the tea garden was unique because I never realized you could grow tea and herbs in Florida.Since I really love to drink tea, growing it myself sounded like so much and it was! My first impression of the garden was, “Wow, this garden is so much different than my garden at home.” I thought the tea garden was really cool! My garden at home isn’t nearly as diverse as the school garden! I have never heard of a tea garden so I was happy. I really like to drink tea so I was really excited to be growing some myself.

I found out that Sophie is not fond of gardens! She likes to be outside, but she wasn’t a fan

of the garden. We both learned a lot about plants though. The first time we first went to the garden to look at the plants, Sophie was really fascinated by the red veins in some of the leaves, but since it was so hot Sophie didn’t want to stay too long. I learned that she loves gardens and seeing things in the garden grow. She really liked the lettuce they let us eat and she thought the flowers that were growing were pretty. She also really loves tea like me, which made us both excited to be in the garden.

I realized that a garden can be a place where you can have many new experiences. I met new people and learned a lot about my buddy, Sophie. Spending time in the garden with my friends and my fourth grader was really fun and relaxing compared to normal class. I remember running around the garden with my buddy and my friend while we were studying the plants. It was really fun to eat the plants and watch our tea garden slowly get bigger. Overall, the garden let me have fun and learn a lot at the same time. I learned that the plants can actually have different-colored stems. There were lots of plants I’ve never seen before and I got to learn about them.

I saw from our garden that there are many types of teas, like lemon tea and chamomile tea. I didn’t know that being in a garden could be part of a school project.

Both of us are excited for our future and have lots of hopes and dreams. Mostly we both want to help animals or do something in the medical field, like being a doctor or vet! It’s funny how even though we don’t have the same interests, we had a good time and oddly have similar future goals.

Written by: Anna Kreiger and Sophie Cottrez

Troy, Dylan, & Paige F.

I did not really care who I got for a buddy. But I did not expect to get two buddies! There were about 40 kids in the classroom, and I had just finished PE and I was exhausted. I wouldn’t care who we had because I would be fine with anybody, because if I had gotten anyone else I would have felt equally the same.

In the garden, we didn’t expect the crops to grow because last year, they didn’t. That was because nobody tended the garden regularly. But this year, they grew tomatoes, herbs, and many varieties of vegetables, and this time they didn’t die. It seemed like everything is different shades of greens.

I thought that the garden looked colorful, and it had delicious looking food. Also I thought that

the plants would grow well, because the other plant in neighboring planters in the garden were growing promisingly.

When we figured out that we were doing something other than Springboard, we felt very relieved that we were going to stop Springboard because the workload was ridiculous. Little did we know, that we were going to spend the rest of the year with a fourth grader that we had previously known nothing about. I thought that whichever fourth grader I got they would be an average fourth grader and like things like puppies and unicorns.

One thing that I gained was about growing herbs; it is easier than it looks! Also I learned that there are multiple techniques to grow plants, other than just plants in soil.

One insight that I gained from the garden is how the animals dispense seeds into the ground. In the animals waste, there are seeds from the food that they eat. The seeds from the animal’s waste plant the crops. This shows how plants from not our garden got there.

In the garden setting, I learned that Paige loves cats! I also learned that she likes grape

tomatoes, especially with salt. Her hobbies include, but are not limited to, skateboarding, playing with her cats, and thinking about her future.

My buddies both want to be rich and so do I. If we do become rich, we will save all of the dogs in the world. We all want to save Golden Retrievers because they are the coolest animals in the world. We all like to jump on trampolines, and the seventh graders like fishing.

I hope that the herbs grow in the garden. My buddies hope that watermelons will be able to grow because it is a great fruit that helps keep you hydrated, and they both like watermelon.

We all believe that the garden was a great idea and was a good experience for us to meet new people and bond over the plants and in a natural environment. All of us believe that this experience could help us in the future. The time we spent together in the garden was a great bonding experience that allowed us connect and learn together, seeing how opinions from other grades vary and differ made our time together more interesting, for sure.

Written by: Troy Riesenberger, Dylan Fagiani, and Paige Florand

Nora & Katie

The first time I met Nora, it was weird. I’m not the kind of person who meets someone and would automatically know if he/she would be my friend. It was the same with Nora. We asked each other what our names were, and then we were silent. We got to know each other later, but at the time, it was SO weird.

The very first time I had ever met Katie, I was honestly very shy. I didn't really know what to say, or honestly what to do. I knew we had to work together, though, and once we got to know each other, it was easy to work together. I found that we were both shy, not just me, but in this case it was good because we had that in common. I am very happy I met Katie, because we work well together.

The things we have in common are glasses, eye color, and how we liked all the different kinds of plants. We both have glasses, even if I don’t wear them often. Also, we both have blue eyes. Finally, we both like all the different kinds of plants. They were so interesting! Those are the things we have in common.

Katie and I have much in common. We both enjoy being around the plants in the garden, because we both like them. Also, Katie and I were very shy when we first met each other, but once we got to know each other, we worked very well together. She is so much like me that sometimes we both seemed to be thinking the same thoughts! Katie is very much like myself, even if she is younger than I am. I am happy to have met her.

The first time I saw the garden, I thought it was AMAZING. Everything was in neat (sort of) plots, and I thought the fact that we had NASA soil was great. I never knew there could be so many different plants and colors! It was so cool.

When I first saw the garden, I was very surprised by the variety of plants there. There was

broccoli and cabbage, peppers and strawberries, all growing in the same garden. I also thought that the garden was very calm, and I think that calmness affected everyone inside it. It is easier to meet new friends in the garden because everyone there likes the garden, and so everyone has that in common. It calms people, no matter what their age. I think that is the reason people spend so much time in gardens.

From all the time writing in the garden, I learned that Nora is so sweet and nice. She was so kind, but she was so shy. She didn’t talk much, but I that was okay with me. Also, I now know she liked all the different kinds of plants, like me.

While we were in the garden, I discovered, as I have said earlier, that Katie is very much like me. I like working with her because of this, and also because she is very kind. She is always very nice to me and to both her and my classmates. Katie cares about the plants a lot as well. She is also very curious about the world, which is a very good quality. Like me, she doesn't just take the facts given to her; she wonders about them, attempting to explain them. I think she will be a

great person later in life just like she is now.

From this garden writing project, I learned that having someone to guide me through writing is very useful. It is fun, and a buddy helps. I think this could be very important in life. If I wanted to be an author, for example, it would help to have someone to check my work.

I have learned a lot from our garden project, especially that many people are shy when they first meet people, but they can be very nice when you get to meet them. Katie and I worked so well together, and I enjoyed her company. She is so nice and friendly, I liked working with her. I am glad that my class decided to do the garden project, so I could meet a fourth grader who was so much like me, a seventh grader. The garden project has truly been a wonderful experience for me. I have really enjoyed it.

By: Nora Povolish and Kathryn Gray

Sam & James

I was sitting in my language arts classroom awaiting the arrival of my unknown partner. A whole squad of 4th graders walked in, I was jumping up and down in my seat like a kangaroo. My teacher took a sheet of paper out of her file and started reading off pairs. She announced “James, you’re with Sam.” I watched a young boy walk over to my seat, I was flustered and didn’t know what to say. James seemed smart, genuine, and kind.

I walked into the room unknowing of what to do. They assigned me a partner and I walked over to where he was sitting. I was embarrassed trying to start a conversation. I felt like I was blushing around my new partner Sam.

We both have many garden commonalities. We are equal in our wish to spend more time in the garden, maybe even talk Mrs. Schell into a sleepover activity so we can experience the activity in the garden, at night! In the future, we plan to make much money and eat food we grow in our own gardens.

When I first walked into the garden I noticed that every patch of dirt was alive… except for our patch. But I knew that that would soon change. I also wanted it bloom up.

As soon as we walked into the garden James and I immediately went to the very back and sat on a pile of bricks. I looked around the garden at all of the many plants and vegetables everywhere. I could just imagine all of the magnificent herbs we would grow.

In the garden setting I learned that Sam hates tomatoes, he likes tea, and he totally digs the garden. Also I learned that Sam plays basketball and lacrosse and wants to grow his own food in the future.

While James and I were in the garden setting I learned that he also hates tomatoes. James

plays soccer in his free time. He also likes tea. James hopes to be successful in the game called life. All in all James is a cool dude!

One insight I learned while participating this project is that I like the garden setting. If I were to look back on this experience I would say that I want to do more in the garden and I would never want to exchange the garden buddy that Mrs. Schell and Miss Wise assigned me!

One insight I learned about myself in the garden with my buddy James is that when the sun shines through the tree branches and the wind whistles through the wind chimes making an unnaturally peaceful song, I was the calmest I’ve been my entire life and my buddy and I got along phenomenally

In the future we both wish to further grow the branches of our family trees. Both of us wish to blossom into amazing and thoughtful young men. We want to harvest a phenomenal job from the many we could choose from (and have a bountiful amount of wealth).

Written by: Samuel Lehrman and James Hunek

Kaiden & Delaney

The time I found out that I was working with a fourth grader I was surprised. I was thinking, “Well how is that going to work?” It was very confusing as to how it would be possible for a seventh grader to understand someone so much younger and have to sort of get them to understand us.

When I met Delaney, I had a mixed amount of feelings. Things like, “I’m working with a fourth grader now?” And, “Okay, that’s kind of cool and strange,” went through my head. Turns out that we both have the favorite animal of a horse. We also found in the garden, that Italian kale is a lot better than regular kale to both of us because we thought that it had a stronger taste.

The first time I met Kaiden, I had a mixture of feelings. I approached him when the teacher called me to meet him. I said, “Hello. I am Delaney. Who are you?” He said, “I’m Kaiden.”

Then we started on our work. I felt sort of confused, but happy and excited.

Delaney and I enjoyed the smell of the garden very much. It was, in our opinion, it was a very strong smell. We learned that fresh garden tomatoes taste great! We also thought that it was very hot in the garden. Which is kind of obvious, we do live in Florida after all!

I loved the garden! I could smell all the mixes of the herbs and plants. Also, the garden boxes looked just like little green floor rugs. It was so cool! I couldn’t tell the difference between the normal soil or NASA soil, though. It was still awesome!

I found that people should try more to find a way to agree on things. If people don’t get along, it’s nearly impossible to get anything done, also, they won’t be very happy and they start to feel lonely and depressed.

I learned that working together is easier when writing, because you can make ideas faster. People can combine their thinking so that parts of a thought come together more quickly. It pretty much always helps.

We hope to get to become better friends in the future. We’ve gotten to know each other a lot since the first time we met. We’ve really planted a seed of friendship! And with time it will grow.

Written By: Kaiden Peers and Delaney Keene

Sophia & Tian Jiao

As I walked in to class thatday I heard Mrs. Schell announce today we are meeting with a class of fourth graders to begin a group project. She wouldn’t tell us too much about the project before meeting, but we figured out enough to know we were writing a book. Once we arrived at the fourth graders’ classroom, I could feel a pang of excitement building inside me. I couldn’t help but wonder who I would be partnered with and what they would be like. When the teachers began calling names, I could feel my excitement building. All of a sudden my partners name rang through my ears and a smile spread across my face. Tian Jiao was my new friends’ name, and I couldn’t wait to get to know her.

I arrived first at the garden feeling like a giant among the plants. Shortly after a gaggle of little

people know as fourth graders sauntered in, and made their way to their partners. As Tian Jiao wandered over to me, I was incredibly anxious to meet this new friend. After getting to know TJ better, I felt comfortable and enjoyed her friendship.

Following Miss Wise into the garden, I saw the seventh graders. I felt very small when I saw them! My buddy’s name is Sophia, and she seemed friendly. I liked her instantly. One day my teacher, Miss Wise, announced “we’re going to spend some time in a garden with a class of seventh graders.” My class walked in to the garden and I was nervous about my new partner. After a minute the seventh graders showed up and I met Sophia, my partner.

Throughout the year Tian Jiao and I have discovered several commonalities between us. For example, both of us aren’t fans of broccoli, we also don’t enjoy sitting in the sweltering heat of the Florida sun. Because; on our first meeting, both TJ and I made the mistake of wearing jeans and once we stepped outside we were drenched in sweat. We also discovered we LOVE to sleep, devour ice-cream, and CHOCOLATE!!

I learned that my buddy, Sophia, and I have many similarities. We both love sleeping, chocolate, and ice cream. I found that we both like chocolate while discussing in the garden. We discovered that both of our favorite flavors are cookies and cream. I am a fan of these things because they all taste very good, except for sleeping. I like sleeping because it is VERY resting and relaxing.

The first time we visited the garden I looked around I was in awe of the luscious green plants, the calm quiet of the area, the immense size, and the vibrant colors. The green of the plants was the first thing that jumped out at me because as soon as you step foot in the garden the vibrant colors jump out at you. As I stood in the center of the garden I could hear the birds’ chirping and the wind blowing in the calm quiet of the vast landscape.

My first impression of the garden was “Wow! The garden is awfully green, well, the food looks good!” (I was hungry at the time. Usually, I don’t eat vegetables.) While in the garden, I was overcome by the smell of the NASA soil. The soil was especially strong compared to other places

and I found it to be uncomfortable. When we walked around in the garden I notice the bright green color of the plants. I also found myself drooling over the delightful vegetables found in the garden.

On our first meeting we learned that we have many similarities, such not liking the smell of the soil, we both love to sleep, and are smart. Right when we sat down I realized just how interesting Tian Jiao was because she got right to work writing paragraphs and answering questions. I learned we both didn’t like the soil because when we walked into the garden Tian Jiao plugged her nose and I held my breath.

Sophia and I had an easy time figuring out our similarities. That makes a lot of sense to me because most people like sleep, the internet, chocolate, and ice cream! I like the internet because you can unlock any information, watch funny videos, play cool games and talk to your friends. We both are fond of sleeping because it is peaceful and relaxing which are very helpful things. Chocolate and ice-cream are some of our favorite foods because of the sweetness.

While it was in fact, hard to find a dream we both shared because of our differences such as background, influences, and ages. Tian Jiao and I decided that similar to pageant girls, we both hope for world peace. We need more flowers not more blood. In other words, we hope like gardeners to pluck the weeds from the soil and release the other plants from their grasp. Like the civilians, soldiers and anyone else caught in the cross fire.

It was not very easy to figure out a dream that we shared, because we are both very different due to our ages, backgrounds and influences. We hope and wish for many different things. But one thing we agree on is a hope for world peace, because there is too much death and not enough sunshine breaking through the darkness. We both hope the wars and conflicts can be removed like weeds, so the civilians, soldiers, and citizens will flourish and bloom.

Written by: Sophia Joerger and Tian Jiao Doherty

Emma & Lauren

The first time I met Lauren, I felt very excited to have the opportunity to mentor her. I have never mentored anyone more than a year younger then me before, so I was looking forward to going through this new experience. I could tell that my buddy was very kind, but a bit quiet. Lauren wasn’t very talkative at first. She didn’t really get any conversations started, but that’s okay. She was nervous and I can’t blame her. She did, however, warm up to me and get more cheery as time went by.

The first time I met my buddy, I was so excited, but a little nervous at the same time. Emma was wearing a pretty black shirt and dark blue jeans. That for sure brought out her beautiful green eyes. I knew we would be buddies from the start.

We don’t have very much in common, but we do enjoy the color blue, and vegetables, but neither of us think we would like blue vegetables. We also both dislike pink. Additionally, we like activities that involve being outside. Neither one of us wants to live in Florida when we grow up. We also work quite diligently.

My first impression of the garden was that it was a decent garden, but I felt the project itself was a bit of a dumb idea. Since we weren’t even the one’s gardening, I felt like we weren’t really a part of the project. Classes before us had already planted the tea seeds, so I felt kind of useless.

My first impression of the garden wasn’t that good. The reason why was because we didn’t get to do anything and our section for growing was very dull. Plots for gardening were full of colorful plants, while ours was very uninteresting. Otherwise, the garden was alright.

When I spent time with Lauren, I found out that she enjoys many kinds of vegetables, such as broccoli, kale, tomatoes, cauliflower, and many others, too. She is also a very diligent worker and very good at following rules. She gets a lot of work done in a short amount of time.

While working with Emma in the garden, I found out that she does not like tomatoes, even fresh ones, and she likes broccoli like me. Also, I learned she has a very interesting personality. She is joyful and funny. Her personality brings out the good mentor that she was.

While spending time with Lauren, I gained the knowledge of how many classes work in the garden. I had not previously known that more than two classes had plots in the garden, but now, I know that there are as many as ten classes that are a part of the garden.

While being with Emma in the garden, I gained the beauty of Pine View’s NASA soil school garden. I deeply value the knowledge I have gained. The beauty of Pine View’s NASA soil garden excites me, therefore making me wish to return to the garden.

One hope we share is that they both hope to be accomplished. We both strive to get good grades, while having strong friendships. We both hope to get a full scholarship to the college of our choice once we graduate college.

Written by: Emma Epstein and Lauren Burd

Alexa & Gabriele

I’m Alexa, and I had a very fun garden experience with my buddy, Gabriele, who never fails to make me smile.

Hi I’m Alexa’s buddy, Gabriele, and now I am going to tell you what I am hoping to learn, see, or eat, including how to grow a garden and what is in the Pine View garden. I am hoping to eat lots of cherry tomatoes.

When I first met my buddy, Gabriele, I was nervous that she wouldn’t like me. I was afraid that we wouldn’t get along well. When I got to know her better, I found out that we actually have a lot in common. We both love to be happy and smile.

When I first met my buddy, Alexa, it felt like fireworks in my stomach. I was extremely nervous

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"Gardeners of the Galaxy Volume IV"

Name: Gardeners of the Galaxy Volume IV
Author: Desiree Schell

Desiree Schell

A collection of collaborative stories and reflections written by seventh and fourth-grade buddies about their shared experiences mentoring and learning in a school garden with NASA soil.

(81 pages)

Privacy level: PUBLIC

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