Gardening

This week the World Travelers and toddlers learned about gardening. Some of the kids took a trip to the Community Garden with Sylvia Beeman while others remained in the nursery with me.

The World Travelers and toddlers that went to the Community Garden had an amazing lesson in Kansas gardening from Sylvia Beeman. She began the lesson by telling the kids about the community garden and how it works, sharing her own experiences gardening, showing the kids some of the insects who live in the garden, and walking the kids through various species of plants. Some fun facts: African plants grow really well here (the 100 plus temperatures remind them of home!) and when black swallowtail butterflies first emerge from their chrysalises it takes a while for them to fly because they have to wait for the blood to flow into their wings. After this instruction, Sylvia let the kids pick produce from her garden (so nice of her!). They picked tomatoes, raspberries, basil, asparagus, oregano, and catnip. Some couldn't wait and began to eat right there. Who could resist, really? The tour ended with Sylvia inviting the World Travelers and toddlers back in a few weeks to see how the garden has changed. I think many will take her up on the offer. :)

Thank you, Sylvia, for your immense knowledge and generosity. What a wonderful experience for our kids!

In the nursery, we also learned about gardening today. We read a book called, Up, Down, All Around. Then we went for a walk around the fellowship, looking at all of the flowers, plants, and insects we have on our grounds. The big excitement for the day was seeing a butterfly caught in a spider web. Fortunately Sylvia and Cathy Hedge helped it loose before they left for the garden. We also sang songs and played with toys - and chewed on stuff (well, at least the 5 and 7 month-olds did!).

Thanks to Destinie and William for helping out with the little ones today!

I thoroughly enjoyed eating the bounty of Sylvia's garden tonight for dinner and hope everyone enjoyed celebrating gardening!