Dance party at the garden!

Today was a really fun day at the garden filled with energetic children. The day started out with a group of Pre-k's who we taught about seeds as they passed around bags filled with various seeds of all shapes and sizes. Then we went on a garden walk and asked the students where the seeds were located on each vegetable. For example on corn we explained that we are actually eating the seeds.  Sadly the sunflower plants are dead, but with the death of a sunflower we get seeds to start a new one!!! All the seeds were on the ground and the children enjoyed trying to pick up as many as they could. Directly after the Kindergartners came out and we repeated the seed lesson with them.

Today the Pre-Kindergartners were learning how to count, so we had to refer to them by their numbers. Here is #6 showing off her sunflower seeds.

After leaning indoors, an outdoor classroom is a nice mixup

Our last class of the day were the third graders who came running enthusiastically over to us. With them we did a lesson about weather which included distinguished the different characteristics of each season and when the best times for growing vegetable and fruit are and why. Next we gave the class a teamwork project of pulling the tall sunflower plants out and taking them to the compost. 

Two girls collecting some more seeds after taking the plants over to compost

It is always exciting to both the children and us when something is ready to harvest and luckily today we got a lovely sweet potato!

sweet! A sweet potato!

After we were done walking around the garden, two girls told us they wanted to sing us a song. The two girls (facing the tree because they were shy) sang us a delightful song about gardening which they has practiced together.  It was adorable, they sang about how plants grow and coming out to the garden.  It was rewarding to know that they are thinking about the garden even when they are not there.    
Next, the girls wanted Derek and Oliva to dance with them (I was recording it).

dance party at the garden

garden dance

Then they did a garden dance where they started on the ground as a seed then sprouted up and acted as a waiting pail and then sprouted their leaves (arms).  It was great that they could put the act of gardening and a plant growing into song and dance! Overall it was a very rewarding day!