Pollinators, fresh growth, and curious hands in the soil.
First- and second-grade classes were deeply immersed in sensory garden work and herbal exploration.
First graders made tea bundles with purple sage and enjoying sage tea lattes, creating milky oat tinctures (one to take home and one to stay in their garden boxes), and gathering flowers for their classroom spring altar.
They’ve also worked hard to help mulch the main garden enclosure and have been learning essential garden skills like transplanting, up-potting plants from six-packs to one-gallon containers, and propagating tomatoes.
Their work continues through plant record-keeping and caring for trees across campus—from the Enchanted Forest to the food forest—developing a strong sense of stewardship and connection.
Second grade blended creativity with hands-on garden learning. They created spring wands, propagated succulents and perennials for the food forest and deer fence, and learned about determinate and indeterminate potatoes while feeding and tending them. In their garden beds, they planted tomatoes, potatoes, and pumpkins, and continued to transplant seedlings and care for their trees in the food forest.
They also tasted their way through the garden—snacking on edible flowers like borage and nasturtium and enjoying purple Cosmo lemonade, sage tea lattes, and lemon balm tea. Their connection to the garden deepened through ongoing journaling about their trees and the changing seasons.
Elementary students were incredibly productive this season, contributing both to the beauty and function of the garden. They mulched pathways, created herb bundles for tea, and planted celery. They also showed great enthusiasm in requesting and preparing milky oat tinctures.
In the food forest, they planted raspberries—which sprouted quickly—and added hollyhocks to the hilltop garden. Students built confidence using tools like pitchforks and wheelbarrows and enjoyed abundant harvesting of calendula, sweet peas, and sourgrass. A highlight that season was a collaborative day with fourth grade, where students worked together in the main and hillside gardens and planted a row of sunflowers in front of their classroom.
Middle school gardeners stepped into a leadership role in the garden, supporting younger students and contributing to larger projects across campus. They helped move mulch and soil, planted pumpkins in the food forest, and assisted with mulching the main garden.
They also made homemade sunscreen around the spring equinox, up-potted plants for the deer fence along the hilltop garden, and helped build and assemble garden beds. In addition, they harvested nettle and learned how to process, dry, and store it for tea—gaining a deeper understanding of plant use and preservation.
Spring brought a wave of growth and abundance throughout the garden. Trees and perennials came to life, including jujube leaves, elderflowers, early apricots, apples beginning to fruit, and mulberries just starting to form.
The garden blossomed with flowers and herbs—borage, calendula, sweet peas, vervain, chamomile, nasturtium, marjoram, thyme, sage, and lemon balm—creating a vibrant and pollinator-friendly environment. In the garden beds, they planted and tended tomatoes, cucumbers, raspberries, pumpkins, potatoes, hollyhocks, sunflowers, corn, and basil.
They continued succession planting calendula, transplanted fennel, and improved garden pathways through composting and mulching.
The garden did not just grow—it came together as a system. Students across all grades worked collaboratively, built soil, learned plant cycles, and contributed to a shared and evolving garden space. Most importantly, they experienced the garden with all their senses—tasting, touching, observing, and caring for it. It was a joy to watch their confidence and curiosity grow alongside the plants.
Next year, we will continue to offer moments for connection in the garden for parents. Simple, hands-in-the-soil mornings—helping with light garden tasks, weeding, mulching, supporting the space, and getting a glimpse into what the students are experiencing each week.
Delightfully,
The Garden Team
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Ollie2026-06-22 00:32:102026-06-22 22:16:18Flashback 2006 – OGS Wins Golden Carrot Award
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Ollie2026-06-19 21:36:062026-06-22 22:03:24Juneteenth Reflection
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Ollie2026-06-08 20:45:512026-06-19 21:12:30High School Graduation 2026
Thank you to the remarkable Class of 2026! We love you! Congratulations ❤️🎉🎶 🎓
#classof2026 #alumni #highschoolgraduation #theartoflivingandlearning #50yearsofoakgrove #amazinghumans #oakgroveschoolojai
Thanks for a wonderful school year! Happy summer! 🦎😎🎉🙏
#50yearsofoakgrove #theartoflivingandlearning #lastdayofschool #oakgroveschoolojai
A few spots left for our upcoming Summer Chess Camp, Preschool Camp, Acting, Doll Clothing Making, and more. ☀️ Details & Sign Up ( linktree in bio) :
https://oakgroveschool.org/summer
#summercamp #happysummer #creativity #fun #prekthru12 #oakgroveschoolojai #50yearsofoakgrove #theartoflivingandlearning
To all of our students, alumni, parents, friends, and neighbors who joined us to celebrate 50 years of Oak Grove School, thank you.
It was a weekend filled with music, hugs, dancing, laughter, stories, and memories. Most of all, it was a beautiful reminder of the people and joy that have shaped our school across generations.
Thank you for being part of this remarkable community, and for helping us celebrate 50 years of living and learning together.
