This summer, participants ages 4-12 came to Rostraver Library to learn about all things plants!
Growing with Gardens consisted of 6 sessions split into two groups in order to accommodate ages 4-6 and 7-12. The program kicked off on June 20 with a community planting day when kids planted tomatoes, beans, peppers, cucumbers, herbs, and flowers in Rostraver Library’s patio garden. On this day, they also received and decorated their garden journals which they used throughout the remaining sessions to track plant growth and store other activities. Finally, they decorated craft sticks and rocks and used them to label different plants in the garden.
A few weeks later on July 11, the sessions started back up with Plant Anatomy. After hearing a story and lesson about the parts of a plant, the kids made a flower model and labeled the plant parts. Then, they went out to the garden to start recording plant growth in their garden journals. They filled out the first row of their plant log charts with plant measurements and appearance. They even found a few blossoms on the young plants!
In the next week’s session Plant Growth on July 18, participants learned about the life cycle of plants with various crafts. In addition to monitoring the garden and updating their garden journals, they also had the opportunity to gather plant samples from the garden and study them in microscopes.
The Healthy Eating Activity Day on July 25 got the kids thinking about foods in different ways as they played games, tested foods by rubbing them on white paper, and other interactive activities. This day was a break from the normal routine and a favorite among the participants!
Growing with Gardens started August out with more learning about nutrition. On August 1, the Veggies and Our Bodies session helped to solidify concepts introduced during the last session. The kids enjoyed reading an alphabet book of many different fruits and vegetables and then using those items to fill in healthy foods for every color of the rainbow.
The program came to a close on August 8 with Food Prep and Recipe Books. Everyone helped to put together a small picnic using ingredients that were grown and discussed during the program. After the picnic, they enjoyed a final look at the garden and a few closing activities.
As always, thank you to all who participated in this event and made it possible. We look forward to seeing you in the garden next summer.
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