I really like first graders. They're eager to learn, to help, and to be silly. All very important parts of an education and life in general. They were very good at answering my questions about what plants need to live (water, soil, and sun was their answer. Air is a fourth ingredient often overlooked.) And they were good listeners, too, as I explained a bit about what the garden would be growing this summer.
We split them up into three groups. One set helped plant rainbow chard seedlings. They did a particularly good job--they focused hard on the task and took great care with the young plants. (I just hope the plants survive tonight's potential frost.)
Another group handled watering duties. We had a handful of watering cans lined up, ready to go, to help settle in all the new seedlings from this morning and yesterday.
And the third group sowed a row of collard seeds, under the guidance of their student teacher, Ms. Cadwell. Collard seeds are tiny, but so are first grader fingers, so they seemed like a good match.
After a group photo, they walked to the park across the street for snack and playtime, which suited them all perfectly.
I had a great time showing off our garden to such eager learners, and I hope they'll be back in a few weeks, when there are a lot more plants and the peas and beans have started to climb the fence, and the chard they planted today is bright read and orange.
When I picked my son, Noah (he's in 4th grade at Lawrence), from school today, the class had already made a lovely thank you book, with a message and decoration from each of the students. What a delight!
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