OUR GARDEN

Our annual gardening projects was started to teach children how food is made and teach them good eating habits habits.

Every year in March we start the Garden Project from scratch to celebrate Earth Day in April. The kids start a month before preparing the soil, weeding, digging and making the beds to plant.

In March parents are given a Gardening Worksheet with instructions on how to prepare their child for this project and where to go to get plants and flowers. As part of their responsibilities, parents visit a garden center or nursery and do some basic preparation. They select one vegetable plant and one flower plant. We do not use seeds but use starter plants which the child can touch and appreciate on larger scale than seeds could.

Kids then add fertilizer and soil, plant their vegetable and water it over the next few weeks. Next to their plant they insert their name stick with names, so they can take ownership of their plant.

Over the next 2 months children water their plant, prune and manage their plant and do some classroom work that will reinforce what they are learning.

When the vegetables have grown, they get to eat to pick the vegetables, wash them and even eat them. Any excess vegetables are given to parents to take home.