NEISD brings outdoor learning to summer school students virtually
NEISD educator Juan Mireles has been an avid gardener for more than twenty years.
“These are a lot more flavorful than the ones I get at the store,” he explained as he pointed to a variety of tomatoes and serrano peppers growing in his backyard garden.
Mireles is the summer school counselor at Northern Hills Elementary and during the school year, he is at Coker Elementary.
This summer, he turned his love for the outdoors into a virtual classroom.
“The idea for garden club came from Ms. Escandon, she’s our principal for summer school. I work with her at cooker. Immediately, I always think about how can I make it a therapeutic tool; how am I going to deliver it in a way where it makes me feel like I’m having an impact,” Mireles explained.
The Northern Hills Summer School Garden Club is held in both English and Spanish via Zoom in Mireles’ own backyard.
There, he teaches students a variety of lessons like how to plant seeds, to composting, to mulching, all in an effort to encourage kids to get outdoors.
“I try to share options with them so that they know that hey you can just go outside and spend time outside. I try to reinforce the idea of spending at least an hour outside, getting some sun, getting some exercise, and bonding with their parents or their siblings,” Mireles added.
The virtual garden club is a first for Mireles, who has been with NEISD for fifteen years impacting students at Krueger Middle School, Longs Creek Elementary, Olmos Elementary, and Jackson-Keller.
He said it’s been a great way for students and parents to stay connected during this time.
“These are my tomatoes,” a student proudly said while he showed the class his garden during the Zoom call.
“They want to participate; they want to be a part of it. They crave being connected to other people and I’m really glad they take the time to share that with me. It is really cool because I feel like they are connected somehow,” Mireles said.
NEISD distance learning classes like this one encourage healthy habits while keeping online learning fun and engaging.
Mireles said just because most are stuck at home, doesn’t mean you always have to always be indoors.
“You can be outside in the backyard or walk, you can do a lot of things. I didn’t know how effective distance learning could be until we did summer school. Having a program like the Garden Club has been a real joy to me. Anywhere or anyway that I can help kids in any way to share my knowledge and experiences with them, I try to do that,” he said.
Because #NEISDcares!
