Under cloudy skies, once again layered in heavy coats and fleece, we unpacked the wheelbarrows, garden gloves, rain boots, and rakes to clean out the leftovers of last year's Salsa Garden. From our garden we pulled oak leaves, dried-up tomato and pepper plants, rotting wooden garden stakes, basil stems and oregano trunks, and plastic plant markers. We noticed tiny green leaves in one corner and tall, 5 inch slender leaves in a clump by the small stone wall.
One vine-like plant on a trellis in the middle of our garden caught our attention with its twisty twiggy branches and reddish green leaves. We found the stem of our jack-o-lantern in the bed of mint tea where the pumpkin had rotted away over the winter. We noticed how soft the misty rain made the bare ground overnight. Before long we had bagged one bag of yard waste and hauled two loads of stems and leaves to the leaf compost bin and had worked up quite an appetite for our morning snack of freshly popped popcorn and veggies and dip!
Following an inspiring story called Our Community Garden, we recorded our own ideas about gardens in drawings and in small groups worked with Teacher Pam to record everything that we already know about gardens. Her questions really got us thinking. Here's a record of our conversation and brainstorming:
We know...There are books about gardens. You can eat food that comes from gardens. You can plant flowers to make a garden. Peppers, tomatoes, and peppermint were growing in our garden. You can have picnics in gardens. What you need to make a garden is a shovel, seeds, watering can, sun, rake, hose, and rain. Or, we could get a cup of water from our drinking fountain for our garden. Gardeners work in gardens. So do kids and their moms and dads. Farmers plant stuff and work in gardens and on the farm. Birds and wind carry seeds. You can get seeds from flowers. We plant gardens to have food, and to provide food for animals, bees, and butterflies. We plant gardens for their beauty. Some flowers are edible; some leaves are edible. Jack Frost could freeze a garden.
We also know...To plant a sunflower you poke a hole into dirt with your finger. You put a seed in. It grows into loops and the seed pops off. Then you get leaves. Then you get a sunflower. Loosening up dirt is important. You have to put a seed inside, water it, and let it grow. Seeds need water. Longwood Gardens has 600,000 plants. There are vegetable gardens, flower gardens, spice gardens, salsa gardens, and butterfly gardens. Squirrels like gardens. You can dig holes in gardens. Many gardens have rows. Sometimes gardeners have signs to let you know what is growing there. Bananas, plums,fruit, apples, and pears grow in orchards.
What lies ahead for our kinder-gardeners in April when we return from spring break? As we turn the soil and trek back and forth with peat pots to the greenhouse in weeks to come, emerging questions will become the foundation for our spring gardening service learning project. We will engage with non-fiction and fiction and daily hands-on learning as we work to answer our questions. Please stay tuned for updates in the weeks to come!
