I was lucky enough to receive 40 plants from the Canadian Wildlife Federation for my class to plant in the school garden. We were so happy to receive the flowers and we enjoyed them in the classroom for a week before we planted them.
Last Friday, my class and I took the shovels that parents had lent us and set out to spread the compost another parent had organised. The children took turns digging up the soil and mixing in the rich compost. I loved seeing them take turns, and getting their hands dirty. I could see who was used to gardening, and who lived in an apartment and therefore never had the opportunity to do some gardening. Each child had the chance to place a couple of plants in the soil: I showed them how to dig a hole big enough for the plant and pat the soil around it. While some children were planting, the others were occupied playing with the soil and building structures with the empty containers.
This week I am grateful for the plants I received from the Canadian Wildlife Federation as it gave both myself and my class a chance to do some gardening (the last time I did this activity was when I was living in my house in South Africa).
What have you been grateful for this week? Share your comments or the link to your post below.
© Colline Kook-Chun, 2018
A wonderful gift to receive and a great gardening experience for little hands, I am sure there will be much nursing and progress reports in the offing.
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The garden is surviving so far Ian. The risk is other children going in and pulling up the plants.
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What a wonderful program for young kids! They’ll learn to appreciate and love nature. 🙂
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That is what I hope for. It is also hands on so they are not afraid to interact with it.
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Your class is lucky to have you!
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Thank you so much 😊
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This is wonderful! It should be mandatory to teach children about gardening, in all schools, around the world. It might very well be the number one skill that would help them survive in case of a disaster, that I hope they will never experience of course. I’m happy that you got the gift of sharing this with them. It feels so good getting some soil on your hands 🙂
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There is a movement to try get kids outside. The problem is that there is so much to cover in the curriculum that sometimes the teachers are forced to be classroom bound. The curriculum expectations should change to include more experiences like these.
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Colline, what a wonderful activity for your students. Besides being able to get outside, they are learning a useful and enjoyable pastime. My 4 1/2-year-old granddaughter has helped me plant my flowers and herbs since she was 2 1/2. This was her third year. I decided her one-year-old sister would enjoy the digging so she helped with the herbs. They’re never too young to plant a garden, whether in the ground or in pots.
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I agree with you. My daughters still have memories of the digging and planting we did when we lived in a house with a garden in South Africa.
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