First Graders are kinda like little bean seedlings, sprouting creativity and eager to learn, reaching for warm autumn sun, putting their roots deep into the soil, their embryo coat burst with curiosity of gardening germinating rainbow colors in pages of their garden journals. Utilizing their 5 senses, they listen to hummingbirds, two finger touch fuzzy and smooth leaves, smell plants and crave cucumbers with lemon, vinegar and tajin, rosemary, basil, kale, and summer squash. For them…all possibilities are infinite and tasty.
Yorkdale Elementary School First graders love to share time in the garden, we have read A Seed is Sleepy, drawn parts of the seed and parts of the plant. We’ve colored with crayons & colored pencils, physically displayed how a plant grows with Yoga and played Friends & Foes Freeze tag.
Each week, these delightful First Graders curiously soak in all the garden has to offer. Amazing us with all kinds of questions, their beautiful minds recalling names of what we learn, experimenting with how different types of soil feel. Learning to label parts of a plant and seeds with thick pencils and no erasers, they write and spell new words in their garden journal. They are not afraid to make mistakes and stand perfectly still like statues when they see a bee. I’m so proud of each and every one of them.