Our son started school down the street at little non profit preschool and has really been enjoying it. The school is an old house with two classes. Our son is in the younger class with around 15 kids who range between the age of 3 and 4 years old.
A couple of weeks ago our son’s teacher sent a notice home with the kids asking any parents to get involved if they had the time. I think a dad started teaching them futbol/soccer, and another parent is helping them stretch. My wife and I volunteered to teach a 30 minute garden class once a week on Thursday mornings. Yesterday was our first class and it was a lot of fun. We worked on the four main things you need for a seed to grow, soil, water, sun and love.
I gathered some supplies from the house soil, seed tray and seeds, and the kids all participated as we planted around 50 oak lettuce seeds.
The kids were all pretty stocked and interested in what it was we were doing. It was right up their alley, dirt and water. They all took part in handling the soil, planting the seed, and watering the seed.
Once we added water to the newly planted seeds we moved them into a green house that was already at the school.
Another family built a small green house for the school a couple of years back so that the kids could keep a garden. It is a creative dome design shade garden that helps keep the brutal elements at bay.
It is difficult to grow food by the beach in the tropics. The heat, humidity, salt, soil, bugs, critters and every creepy thing under the sun has its tole on whatever it is you are trying to grow. The shade garden or green house is almost a necessity if you want to have any type of real success growing next to the beach. Up in the hills, just a few kilometers away it is a entirely different situation.
Over the next few classes we will watch the seeds grow, plant them into the garden and start making our own soil out of compost.
Leave a Reply