How to Introduce Bonsai to Teenagers?

[A. Gorilla]

Take them on a field trip, do a presentation and call it a day.

Roll call. Who got into bonsai because someone evangelized you into it?

Ok, and who saw it once and something just clicked?

 

[ShadyStump]

Since the thread has been resurrected I suppose it's time for an update on my end as OP.
Because of covid-19 situation we haven't been able to do any field trips or in person activities, and because of changes handed down to us from the state department of education the class we used to facilitate activities in the first place is gone. We're working on other scaffolding for us to bring them back, but it's been a doozy of a year.

I tried a couple times to start cool/weird tree scavenger hunt and have students post pics they took on class live chat, but no joy. Guess I'll just have to keep swinging.

 

[Njyamadori]

i can really help since im a teen. If they are like gangsters you gotta do it the gangster way. Write graffiti on the pots grow some weed plants or steal some and put it in the pots. And they would love to take care of it and water it

 

[Mapleminx]

i can really help since im a teen. If they are like gangsters you gotta do it the gangster way. Write graffiti on the pots grow some weed plants or steal some and put it in the pots. And they would love to take care of it and water it

Sorry but stealing is immoral no matter the intentions behind it. I’m also not sure encouraging teenagers to grow weed is a good idea either.

 

[Njyamadori]

Sorry but stealing is immoral no matter the intentions behind it. I’m also not sure encouraging teenagers to grow weed is a good idea

... i was joking

 

[Mapleminx]

... i was joking

It is a well known stereotype that Germans have no sense of humor, so guess I walked into that one there.

 

[RosePastry]

Back In 2020 I used to read as a guest a lot on the forum and I tried out your idea.

I initiated the class pet as one of my bonsai trees with a red brick they had found. It was nothing fancy, just a pine tree we had found in the yard. The teens helped and watched me pot it up. We couldn't get bonsai soil so we planted it in river rocks. In the beginning they made bets on whether it would die or not as no tree could grow in rocks right?

When they asked questions about the tree or why it needed a brick. I would link it to one of the subjects I taught (geography, biology, literature).

Surprisingly by the end of the year it was a necessary part of the class routine and its growth was treated as religiously as Mortal Combat and Grand theft Auto.

Two of the most difficult boys have just graduated. One has gone into military aviation maintenance in Japan with the U.S. airforce becuase he fell in love with the culture and my most difficult case graduated valedictorian and is contemplating a technical college when all he used to think he was capable of was being a rapper.

Thank you very much for the idea. I don't believe they would've graduated with such promise without it.

 

[Carol 83]

Back In 2020 I used to read as a guest a lot on the forum and I tried out your idea.

I initiated the class pet as one of my bonsai trees with a red brick they had found. It was nothing fancy, just a pine tree we had found in the yard. The teens helped and watched me pot it up. We couldn't get bonsai soil so we planted it in river rocks. View attachment 491907In the beginning they made bets on whether it would die or not as no tree could grow in rocks right?

When they asked questions about the tree or why it needed a brick. I would link it to one of the subjects I taught (geography, biology, literature).

Surprisingly by the end of the year it was a necessary part of the class routine and its growth was treated as religiously as Mortal Combat and Grand theft Auto.

Two of the most difficult boys have just graduated. One has gone into military aviation maintenance in Japan with the U.S. airforce becuase he fell in love with the culture and my most difficult case graduated valedictorian and is contemplating a technical college when all he used to think he was capable of was being a rapper.

Thank you very much for the idea. I don't believe they would've graduated with such promise without it.

What an great story. That must make you so proud. Teachers are so unappreciated, thanks for inspiring another generation.

 

[ShadyStump]

Back In 2020 I used to read as a guest a lot on the forum and I tried out your idea.

I initiated the class pet as one of my bonsai trees with a red brick they had found. It was nothing fancy, just a pine tree we had found in the yard. The teens helped and watched me pot it up. We couldn't get bonsai soil so we planted it in river rocks. View attachment 491907In the beginning they made bets on whether it would die or not as no tree could grow in rocks right?

When they asked questions about the tree or why it needed a brick. I would link it to one of the subjects I taught (geography, biology, literature).

Surprisingly by the end of the year it was a necessary part of the class routine and its growth was treated as religiously as Mortal Combat and Grand theft Auto.

Two of the most difficult boys have just graduated. One has gone into military aviation maintenance in Japan with the U.S. airforce becuase he fell in love with the culture and my most difficult case graduated valedictorian and is contemplating a technical college when all he used to think he was capable of was being a rapper.

Thank you very much for the idea. I don't believe they would've graduated with such promise without it.

THAT IS AMAZING!
I can't tell you how great it is to hear this worked for you AND your students.

Unfortunately, I'm no longer working at the school I was. You know that thing where a staff member suddenly disappears, then you see the one no one gets along with acting all smug, and upper level faculty show up on site for the first time ever micromanaging everything, and then you hear a bunch of rumors about the disappeared person that all sound really outlandish and out of character for them? Yeah, I'm that guy now.

BUT, every kid on the block would rather be in my backyard than on vacation. So, yeah, I'm not done yet either.

 

[Shogun610]

Cool way to show younger kids..
but also you could say
“ Bonsai bussin fr no cap , ong, deadass it’s a total vibe just hits different”

 

[RosePastry]

Thank you! I am super proud of them. Shadystump if you ever want to brainstorm some more ideas let me know as the nuttiness is spreading like a leafy cancer out of control. One grade is even talking pottery. (Which I have no idea about)

Cool way to show younger kids..
but also you could say
“ Bonsai bussin fr no cap , ong, deadass it’s a total vibe just hits different”

Sorry Shogun610 even with years of tutilage I still can't grasp the language. But I do know what a Snapchat is now.

 

[Gabler]

Cool way to show younger kids..
but also you could say
“ Bonsai bussin fr no cap , ong, deadass it’s a total vibe just hits different”

I put that into Google translate, and Google couldn't figure out what language it's from. What does it mean?

 

[Tieball]

It is a well known stereotype that Germans have no sense of humor, so guess I walked into that one there.

No you didn’t walk into anything. You were being totally honest and thoughtful. Seriously well done!

 

[Tieball]

Teens will move in and out of interest in a tree subject. Use less philosophy and a lot more hands-on engagement. I’d even lose interest if someone just talked to me without me being able to touch, manipulate and create something….a need to get my hands dirty. Destruction of a tree is to be expected. There should be plenty of trees available for work. A badge of honor for a teen is the admission that this is my third tree and I plan to not screw this one up….that’s my plan anyway.

I think that teens, even most of us seasoned-life-users, like to see the end of the tunnel here and there. So even a stick with some moss cover in a cool bonsai pot is exciting.

 

[August]

I put that into Google translate, and Google couldn't figure out what language it's from. What does it mean?

As a 24 year old, possibly the youngest here, I present a perfect translation.

"Bonsai is amazing, for real, without a doubt! Swear to god, seriously, it's a pleasing activity, and nothing quite compares to it!"

 

[Shogun610]

As a 24 year old, possibly the youngest here, I present a perfect translation.

"Bonsai is amazing, for real, without a doubt! Swear to god, seriously, it's a pleasing activity, and nothing quite compares to it!"

ding ding

 

[ShadyStump]

Shadystump if you ever want to brainstorm some more ideas let me know as the nuttiness is spreading like a leafy cancer out of control. One grade is even talking pottery. (Which I have no idea about)

What age group are you working with? And where are you? Adding a general location to your profile will help with the latter.
You could try networking with the arts staff, and maybe even the groundskeepers. Start the year hunting around schoolyard for weed trees, or even planting some in a designated grow bed for the next year. The art teacher can add trees to the curriculum as a still life unit, or offer extra credit for whoever turns in a drawing of that year's tree every season, as can you for science. Around the start of second semester a pottery unit could be done - which could also tie into physics or geology - and the kids could take their pots home just in time to find their own weed trees to plant in them.

There really are miriad ways to tie it in to any aspect of education. Biology, ecology, natural history, geology, physics, geography, social studies, visual arts...
The only things that might be a stretch are music and shop class, but you could still take the dead trees and carve them into whistles or something. That's how I got started on woodwork.

 

[RosePastry]

As a 24 year old, possibly the youngest here, I present a perfect translation.

"Bonsai is amazing, for real, without a doubt! Swear to god, seriously, it's a pleasing activity, and nothing quite compares to it!"

Well, I'm 26 and have no idea... I dont have tv or internet for the most part I'm outside to care for my pine trees. Now that I haveba translator I may ask for more as we go into the school year.

 

[ShadyStump]

every kid on the block would rather be in my backyard than on vacation. So, yeah, I'm not done yet either.

Told ya.
They walked in on me doing exploratory surgery/repot of a very sick yew.

There goes half my coco coir, and the sifted fines I was saving for muck.
Also several pots about to be full of cilantro, marigolds, larkspur, lettuce, ficus benjamina, and the little blonde guy just doesn't understand that a 12 foot tall sunflower won't last long in a little sour cream tub. His call, but I warned him.

 

[Tieball]

Told ya.
They walked in on me doing exploratory surgery/repot of a very sick yew.
View attachment 492065
There goes half my coco coir, and the sifted fines I was saving for muck.
Also several pots about to be full of cilantro, marigolds, larkspur, lettuce, ficus benjamina, and the little blonde guy just doesn't understand that a 12 foot tall sunflower won't last long in a little sour cream tub. His call, but I warned him.

Well….they are having fun. That’s the biggest battle with kid engagement. Well done letting them explore and experiment.