Growing Together: Open Forum

I love gardening in Maine! The very distinct 4 seasons brings us through the wheel of the year as a reminder to observe in ourselves what we observe in the garden.  Working with children to grow food opens up your eyes to so many little details we may overlook as adults. They are the first ones to find the wild blueberries and strawberries growing, see little snails and slugs on the kale leaves, point out that the chives are back, and make sure to harvest 2 cherry tomatoes each time; one for them and one for a friend. I love to watch their joy in the garden, everything being so familiar but still so new! We planted some peas yesterday and they loved digging holes to plant each seed, only able to carry a few in their tiny hands they so carefully placed them in the holes that they dug. Involving the children in the growing of the food to the chopping of the vegetables and making their meals makes each meal so special and so enjoyable! I think it is extremely important to always include children in gardening and no matter where you live to show appreciation for things big and small in the garden and on the land you are working with!

*this was meant to go in the other forum, I posted it in there but can't figure out how to remove it from this group!

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Tyra Toby
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I love your post Tyra. It captures so much of my gardening joy with preschoolers in northern Indiana. We too have 4 distinct seasons. Our gardening from planting to magnifying glasses in the garden searching for blossoms, colors, textures, growing produce and insects. The wind chimes along the garden walking pathways add so much fun and delight. And, the watering oh yes the watering of plants!  These experiences provide ordinary garden magic that is hard to capture in words. We added garden art, games, storybooks plus puppets to extend the experiences adding more delight.  Thank you Tyra for your post; it filled my heart with joy.  Terri @ tkosik@saintmarys.edu

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Terri Kosik
Early Childhood Development Center at Saint Mary's and Notre Dame
South Bend IN
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