Leeks in our garden

One of our children brought some leeks for our garden to preschool and we have been busy preparing the garden and planting the leeks.

Gardens are great for teaching the children the cycle of growth. The children plant seeds, watch them sprout and care for the plants. At our preschool, this is followed with harvesting and food preparation.

Gardens provide great opportunities for the children to learn about nutrition and health. Children love to try new foods, especially when they have grown the food themselves or have been involved in harvesting the food. A gardening programme allows children the opportunity to make food choices based on new experiences.

The garden at our preschool is a place where our children are able to explore and discover in an interactive, hands-on environment. It teaches them about growing vegetable crops and they experience first hand the life cycle of plants, from seed to harvest, and begin to understand the relationship from garden to table.

We often turn our harvest into a nutritious meal, a curry, a savoury muffin (with eggs from our free range chickens) or a chunky vegetable soup. The final celebration takes place when we all sit around our peacepole, enjoying our home made meal.

Our garden has created many life shaping memories. It is a place where our children can marvel at the wonders of plants and their importance in our lives.

Often when we work in our garden we get sidetracked as we investigate the creatures we share our garden with, exploring how they live and how they help our gardens grow.

Earthworms are one of the creatures the children are fascinated with. They play a significant role breaking down organic matter into nutrients for plants and aerating the soil with their burrowing.

When a child finds a worm, we encourage them to look and feel gently, how moist are they, as they breathe through their skins. How do their muscles stretch and contract to move and which end is the head?

Gardening is a rewarding way to connect with nature for children and adults alike. We are looking forward to nurturing our leeks and other vegetables in our garden as summer arrives.