Remember the first time you
felt the joy of digging in the dirt, making a home for a tiny plant and
nurturing it into a full-grown leafy donor of juicy, delicious veggies? A group of children at the Mount Saint
Vincent Home is doing just that.
Though they range from only 3 to 5 years old, as pre-schoolers they’ve
already been taught the basics.
Every Wednesday afternoon a
small group of Colorado Master Gardeners gets the pleasure of spending an hour with
these children. To make the most
of their perpetual physical and mental motion, the first half of the session is
spent with hand-on activities in the garden. The dozen or so children share activities such as planting,
weeding, watering, and even tasting the end products… all the while indirectly
soaking in a bit of Gardening 101.
Just as these little gardeners start wandering away from the duties at
hand, or giving in to the overwhelming temptation of spraying their classmates,
we quickly transition back into the classroom. After regrouping, we typically read a story or teach a short
lesson on topics such as plant parts, composting, and insects. The lesson then wraps up with a
relevant hands-on project favorite such as starting seeds in egg cartons,
decorating wooden insects, and making insects out of actual fruits and
vegetables.
The Mount Saint Vincent Home
is pleased with the work that Colorado Master Gardeners have done this season and looks
to expand involvement next season.
If you are interested in
helping to grow a new generation of Colorado gardeners, please stay tuned for
more information on how you can help starting next spring!
