Gardening with Grandfriends

Last week we spent some time out doors with our grand friends.

It was on their patio

and we planted seeds in some of their big pots.

Together they prepped the soil 

opened and shared the seeds,

then poked and spread the seeds in the soil.

Then the fun part was watering the seeds.

It took a lot of water and the children were up to the chore.

We slid all the tubs to a sunny spot

and placed a sign that we had made at school.

The looks of happiness shared between the grand friends

and the children, with few words spoken, was wonderful.

Sharing an experience that is common for some

and new for others

but 

pleasurable for all.

Planting Shamrocks

Last week I planted some clover seeds, first time ever, hoping that they will grow before St. Patrick’s Day.
           
                 Amazingly in just three days they sprouted.
              
This week I set up a planting centre so the children could plant their own container of clover.
            
  
     They prepared their cup by printing their name then filling it with soil.
 
         Sprinkle on the seeds, then watering.  A friend watches patiently.
               
The she takes her turn to plant a cup of clover.  There is a calmness in planting.
  
Surprisingly within two days the seeds began to sprout.  It didn’t seem to matter if the seeds were put under the soil or on top.  They are both showing signs of growth.
              
                           Each day more children plant a cup. 
                   We will have lots of clover for St. Patrick’s Day.

Garden Mountain

One of our families invited us to help plant their garden.  About a month
ago we had a small group visit Vivian and Millie’s house.
       
             
Vivian had an interesting theory; each plant needs a certain depth for their roots so what if the garden was a hill, like a mountain, would everything grow?
 
  
She had a plan drawn explaining where each seed would be planted according
to the space their root needed.
          

We started at the top of the mountain to plant popcorn.

What a great experience to dig into the soil and get our hands dirty pushing the seeds into the ground.  We also practiced sounds of letters to help us decide what each seed started with so we could print the name on a stick.

Can you guess the next seed?  It starts with a ‘k’ sound.

Vivian showed us how to sprinkle the carrot seeds from our fists.


Next was pumpkins that needed to be poked into the soil and covered.

Then we stretched a short fence around half of the mountain to plant peas.  The children measured the depth of the hole by using their finger and planted a seed in front of each fence peg.

Lastly we erected a bamboo teepee.  The children shovelled dirt around the poles to help secure it to the ground.
      
Around each pole they planted beans.  As the beans grow they will climb the pole.
     
We finished gardening by giving the mountain a good rainfall.

One month later
 
Pumpkin,                                                   beans,
 
peas                                                                    and carrots
                                           are all growing. 

Thanks Vivian and Millie for teaching us about seeds and growing a garden mountain.

We’ll be back in the fall to help harvest.