The children at Lobethal Kindy truly learn to love the outdoors and all the wonders it has to offer. Gardening and growning edible plants is so satisfying for children and adults of all ages.

Spring has finally arrived which means time to plant,. Firstly we needed to replant the purple tubs that had previously grown our cauliflowers and lettuce. These tubs will become an amazing bean tunnel for the children to explore and pick fresh beans.

We planted purple and green beans along the trellis. This created an opportunity for some measuring and counting. A fabulous pattern of purple and green was made on a piece of wood before the seeds were gently planted and watered. Now to wait for the magic beans to grow.

Along with the beans we have planted some chive seeds and  baby beetroot.

With our old vegetable garden now transformed into a flower garden it was time to establish a new vegetable garden. We had the perfect spot where we had recently removed our old monkey bars that was just waiting for a purpose.

We sourced some old pallets from our local landscaping business and the transformation began.

One of our boys nailed wood on the open ends to hold in the soil.

The pallets were measured to estimate the amount of soil we needed.

Many bags of soil were bought and the children worked together to take the soil outside ready for the challenge of filling the pallets.The soil was pushed in and tightly packed.

Time for the important task of working out which vegetables we would like to grow and eat. Sitting on the pallets in the beautiful spring weather some of the children and I had a discussion about what we should plant.

They counted the rows and drew a plan in our floor book.

 I headed off to the local hardware store to source the required vegetable seeds and seedlings. Lucky for us most of the plants the children wanted were possible to plant in spring.

I helped the children lay the plants and packets of seeds onto the pallet in the best spots for the height and size of each vegetable and away they went.

Through the day many children came and went. They observed and helped to plant the seeds and plants. Then the fun of watering began and will now become a daily part of our kindy day until it is once again time to harvest.

Our pallet taste sensation contains – Baby spinach, zucchini, cucumber, cherry tomatoes (red and yellow), spring onions and lettuce seeds. We can only imagine what we will be able to create and eat with our wonderful produce fresh from the kindy pallet.

On our recent visit to the Botanical Gardens one of our lovely mums bought us packets of coloured silverbeet seeds. This gave us the perfect opportunity to plant another pallet. This pallet will be our “Rainbow of Silverbeet”. It should look and taste fantastic and the seeds are already popping through.

One very industrious boy decided to take off his shoes and use his feet to pack down the soil then the end of a broom to make holes for the seeds.

The hardest part of gardening with children is not to take over. You need only give guidance and then sit back and watch them plant and care for their garden. It takes a lot of patience and self control to stop yourself from taking the spade or to not allow them to handle the plants delicate roots. It doesn’t matter if the rows are not straight or that the seedlings have been tossed on the ground before planting or that the holes are too close or far apart. It is about allowing them to have a go and enjoy the pleasure of growing something that will be enjoyed by everyone. Let’s face it, the beetroot will still taste like beetroot if the row is crooked. The beans will find their way through the soil even if they are 5mm too deep. Gardening is something we can all succeed at and children are no exception. Let them experiment and explore the wonders of the garden in their own way and time, they will learn so much more and enjoy their learning along the way.

Term 4 week 1 –  starting to take off.

Term 4 week 2 – looking good.

Written by Janice Jenkin

Early Years Learning Framework

Outcome 2 – Children are connected with and contribute to their world

Principle 1- Children develop a sense of belonging to groups and communities and an understanding of the reciprocal rights and responsibilities necessary for active community participation.

Principle 2- Children respond to diversity with respect

Principle 3 – Children become aware of fairness

Principle 4 – Children become socially responsible and show respect for the environment

Early Years Learning Framework

Outcome 3 : Children have a strong sense of wellbeing

Principle 1– Children become strong in their social and emotional wellbeing

Principle 2– Children take increasing responsibility for their own health and physical wellbeing

Early Years Learning Framework

Outcome 4 – Children are confident and involved learners

Principle 1– Children develop dispositions for learning such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence, imagination, and reflexivity.

Principle 2– Children develop a range of skills and processes such as problem solving, enquiry, experimentation, hypothesizing, researching, and investigation.

Principle 3– Children transfer and adapt what they have learned from one contest to another

Principle 4– Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies, and natural and processed materials.