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Celebrating three years: Longwood’s Home School Days engage students in the Gardens

Following the vision of our founder Pierre S. du Pont, Longwood Gardens has always placed a heavy emphasis on educating all types of students.  Entering its third year, Longwood’s Home School Days provide an opportunity for home schooled children to experience hands-on learning outside of the home and in the Gardens.

Designed to meet National Education Standards for students grades K-8, Home School Days are typically offered four times per school year. Each program has a specific curriculum focus in arts and humanities, language arts, mathematics, science and technology, or social studies. Since Longwood launched the program three years ago, it has grown to attract about 100 students per program.

“It’s important to offer a program for home schooled children here at Longwood. It gives children an opportunity to meet other home schooled students in a safe environment.  We provide an excellent educational program for a very affordable cost,” says Michelle Cugini, Curriculum Specialist at Longwood.

Unlike other home school programs, Longwood divides students into groups of 15 or less, and assigns one Longwood Educator to each group.  Groups are divided by grade levels: K-2, 3-5, and 6-8.

“As a home school family with multiple children, it is sometimes difficult to attend a program where more than one child can participate.  I like the fact that at Longwood I can take children of different grades and they are then divided into age-appropriate groups,” says Robin Waldschmidt, whose two sons have participated in Home School Days since the program first launched.

Longwood’s Home School Days provide something for parents and students alike. While their children are engaging in hands-on learning in the Gardens, parents are welcome to spend time exploring the Gardens themselves.  At the end of the program, parents join their children and other home school families for lunch in the Terrace Tent.

“Students get hands-on activities in a beautiful setting.  There is something here for the entire family, making it a perfect destination for students, younger siblings, and parents alike,” says Cugini.

Waldschmidt says her family often makes a day out of their trip to Longwood for Home School Days, since programs typically occur in the morning.

“Continuing to explore the Gardens and the exhibits after the formal program is one of the things my children look forward to. We always bring some art supplies with us and spend some time in the afternoon creating new pictures. Spending time at Longwood has helped my children learn about the difference that one person with a vision can have on their community,” says Waldschmidt.

For more information on Home School Days, visit http://longwoodgardens.org/HomeSchoolDays.html. Pre-registration is required and space is limited.

Student Spotlight: Meet Longwood’s first interchange fellow, Alex Summers

Alex Summers is making history at Longwood Gardens as our first Royal Horticultural Society and Garden Club of America (RHS/GCA) Interchange Fellow. Arriving from the UK earlier this month, Summers will serve a year-long internship at Longwood where he will rotate through many areas of the Gardens.

The RHS/GCA Interchange Fellowship is a reciprocal exchange program sponsored by the RHS in the UK and by the GCA in the US, in association with Longwood Gardens.  The program aims to foster British-American relations, promote horticultural studies and the exchange of information in horticulture, and to develop the horticultural and educational leaders of the future.

“I applied for this fellowship as an opportunity to experience the American horticultural industry," says Summers.

The program is open to British university graduates who received degrees in horticulture, landscape architecture, botany, or environmental studies. Summers recently completed the three year Kew Diploma at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, which is similar to Longwood’s Professional Gardener Program.  Prior to that, he obtained his BS in biology from Durham University. His experience also includes a year as a horticultural trainee at Cambridge University Botanic Gardens.  While Summers’ educational experiences certainly qualified him for the fellowship, he feels his passion for horticulture is what really set him apart from other applicants.

“I love plants. However, as I have discovered from the past five years of studying and working in the industry, the opportunity to engage with the public and share this passion is becoming increasingly central to my passion. Horticulture and conversation, whether this be sustainable practices or direct plant or habitat restoration, are also key to my interest,” says Summers.

Fellowship applicants have the option of applying for a year of Masters Program courses in the US, or for a year-long internship at Longwood Gardens. For Summers, Longwood was the best choice.

“Longwood Gardens is internationally renowned.  It is respected throughout the industry for its high quality public horticulture and awesome displays.  These facets of Longwood are something that is difficult to experience in gardens elsewhere. This fellowship provided the perfect opportunity to develop myself both on a horticultural and personal level,” says Summers.

Even though Summers’ time at Longwood just started, he’s already thinking about what’s next. With hopes to return to the UK and eventually manage a public garden, he’s confident that his experience at Longwood will lead him to success.

“Longwood provides an unparalleled opportunity to learn from the best and I hope by making the most of the fellowship I will be able to transfer the best practices experienced here into my outlook on managing public gardens and landscapes throughout my future career,” says Summers.