What are we growing?

In my home centre we have a large vegetable garden which the children help to look after. Food from this garden is often used in cooking for the children by the centre cook. A few weeks ago the children brainstormed the fruit and vegetables that they would like to grow for the coming season and they went on a trip to the nursery to pick them out. They then returned to the centre and helped to plant the new edible crops into our garden.

We have also set up a worm farm and have been learning how to look after the worms that live inside. In was a very interesting process to follow through as we learned lots of new things about the worms and their new home. We set up a worm farm barrel and filled it with all the things that little worms like. Hopefully soon we will have some worm tea (or worm wee) to fertilise the garden and help the plants grow. Although this end product will be quite useful for the garden, the process of setting up and caring for the worm farm in itself has been such a valuable learning experience for the children and teacher like. Children are taking roles of responsibility to put some chopped up lunch scraps into the worm farm and like to check on the progress of breaking down the waste scraps.

The garden has been challenging as we have lots of caterpillars eating the plants lately. I have discussed different pest control alternatives with the other teachers as we need to find an organic option to be safe for the young children. The children were interested to know why the plants are being eaten and what we can do to stop this also. We found a book at the library which showed us how to make some garlic spray that may stop the caterpillars from eating our plants. So over the next few days we talked about the recipe, collected the ingredients and mixed it all up. We learned about how to dilute the mixture and use a sprayer to apply the garlic spray onto the affected plants. This technology was very natural and very helpful as there are far fewer caterpillars in the garden now and the broccoli is growing much healthier.

On reflection I can see that this area of our curriculum has been full of rich opportunities for learning and development for all ages and stages. The use of technology has enhanced and enriched these experiences greatly. We possibly could have done some gardening without any tools, however the use of garden tools and processes has provided opportunities to develop gross & fine motor skills, scaffolding, turn taking and social skills, mathematics, science and literacy as well as learning about the process of recycling and life cycles of plants and insects. I see this an example of the rich content which supports development of problem solving processes, understandings of multiple cultures and perspectives and critical thinking that involves several learning domains for all involved (Mindes, 2006).  

Through this experience I am convinced that introducing horticultural technology into the gardening activities has extended children’s learning and provided opportunity for real engagement and meaning making to occur. If we had not have used technology in our garden we might have been able to grow plants but we would have missed out on the growing of minds that happened while we were on the journey.  

As it is a journey I recognise that I need to acknowledge that I’m still not ‘there yet.’ I am finding my place in the team at a new centre and it is still a work in progress. At the last team meeting we discussed the use of the garden produce and the reduction of cooking experiences that we have been providing for the children lately. Some teachers reflected that the centre used to do cooking with the children at least weekly and now it is few and far between.

I reflected on this in comparison to my previous experience at another centre where cooking was a daily occurrence and wondered what barriers existed in the new centre. I reflected on my own lack of confidence in this area and the need for a team approach to supporting each other’s attempts in cooking activities. Nimmo, (2002) states that “teachers grow through opportunities to stretch their comfort level in their teaching” (as cited by Nimmo & Hallett, 2008, p.3).  I feel that building and further strengthening trusting relationships in the teaching team will empower us to provide a wider range of experiences for and with the children.  

References:

Mindes, G. (2006). Social studies in kindergarten. In D. F. Gullo (Ed.), K today teaching and learning in the kindergarten year. (pp.107-115). Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Nimmo, J., & Hallett, B. (2008). Childhood in the Garden: A Place to Encounter Natural and Social Diversity. YC: Young Children, 63(1), 32-38. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.