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Monday 10am - 6pm Tuesday 10am - 6pm Wednesday 10am - 6pm Thursday 10am - 6pm Friday 10am - 6pm

Smiling Roots

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Handcrafted Art, Garden Design & Education and Horticultural Therapy Programming

10/31/2026

These costumed first graders were highly motivated to move soil and compost into their school garden after learning that pizza sauce has garlic in it and they can grow their own garlic to take home after harvest.

10/14/2026

5th grade team putting together a greenhouse that will be used as a propagation station for California native plants and perennial vegetables.

You can help this elementary school too! Link in bio for TK, Kinder and Special Education garden supplies through Donorschoose.org.

Please share 🙏🏼

10/12/2026

Please share this DonorsChoose campaign! An elementary school I work with could really use some help providing their TK and Kinder students with engaging activities in their play yard. LINK IN BIO

10/11/2026

Tested out a new proprioception exercise last week and it ended up being happily embraced by the kids. Proprioception is our body's subconscious ability to sense our physical position within a space, our body's movements, and level of force exerted. This sense helps us coordinate our movements, adjust our speed and level of pressure applied, and manage our awareness of surroundings.

Kiddos worked together as 'water partners' to transfer water from a large bin to raised garden beds using small containers instead of watering cans. They communicated with each other about how fast or slow they should go, how high or low to hold the sides of the containers to keep water from spilling, and what structures or people to navigate around.

This activity is a fun and simple way to have kids practice safe bodies in outdoor classrooms while working together to care for their shared garden spaces.

10/10/2026

Highlight of the week: this non-verbal 3rd grade SPED student spent 20 minutes laughing and giggling and he traversed up and down the soft soil pile next to his school garden. He helped fill up bins with soil to start prepping raised garden beds for Fall planting. 20 straight minutes of pure joy that surprised his teachers and myself.

Last year, I struggled to find activities that encouraged him to engage with nature. This year, he's showing me what's possible when children are allowed to explore on their own terms. Can't wait to see what's in store for next week!

10/09/2026

Middle school students at Ocala STEAM Academy are working together to create their outdoor classroom. Students had many options to choose from based on how their bodies and minds were feeling and are encouraged to let me know if they have ideas for activities I haven't mentioned. It's their space!

Some popular activities this week included:

🌿 harvesting radishes, tomatoes, watermelon, chiles and zucchini

🏵 Creating wildflower micro-meadows for wildlife

🛠 Putting together outdoor storage containers, a handwashing sink and a greenhouse

💐 Creating bouquets with salvia, zinnia, marigold and basil

🌿 Hand watering planters slated for future drip irrigation

My goal is to give these students the autonomy, encouragement, supplies, support and trust they need to curate their own unique connections to nature.

10/03/2026

Garden classes for all students at Russo McEntee Academy started last week! Classes practiced making and recording observations of plants, birds, insects and reptiles. We also started preparing raised beds for Fall planting.

The highlight of the week was the discovery of Cookie (named by the student who found her), a large female native California praying mantis! Not only did we get to gently observe Cookie, later in the day we found Ice Cream (a male native California praying mantis) and a freshly laid egg case.

10/01/2026

Ocala STEAM Academy middle school students working together to create their own unique outdoor classroom. We're focusing on small zones each week to keep the vibe relaxed and manageable!

09/24/2026

Russian kale from Renee's Garden grown by middle school students was harvested today for kale chips in the cafeteria. Curious to hear their feedback when I see them again next week!

09/18/2026

Another beautiful week in the Ocala STEAM Academy outdoor classroom! Students created succulent gardens, repurposed sunflower stalks to create trellises, collected sunflower seeds for a seed library, sowed root vegetable and leafy greens seeds, spread mulch to suppress weeds, filled planters with soil, harvested rosemary and chives for a delicious dip with beet chips, observed ants farming aphids to eat their sweet p**p (called honeydew), identified ladybug larvae and pupae, transplanted seedlings and trees, and sampled the African Blue Basil that will be incorporated into a creamy pesto pasta in their cafeteria next week.

Address

San Jose, CA

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 6pm
Tuesday	10am - 6pm
Wednesday	10am - 6pm
Thursday	10am - 6pm
Friday	10am - 6pm

Telephone

+14086411506

Website

https://linktr.ee/smilingroots

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