And finally count how many days until we can harvest the food. Consider measuring the height of plants as they grow on a weekly or 2-weekly basis. Then circle back to science. How did a little seed become this big plant? Map out the life cycle of the plant. Take photographs of each stage to show the development of the seed. While tamariki are developing their working theories about how plants grow, they are learning language - the language of gardening. Learning the correct terms – soil, (not dirt that is something that we get on our clothes), compost, trowel, root, stem etc. Making labels for seeds that have been sown Making labels for the plants in the garden Recording the findings from their experiments in a diary that can be re-visited When gardening is embedded in the curriculum it has the added benefit of supporting emotional competence and wellABOUT THE AUTHOR Anita Croft is a qualified early childhood teacher with 20 years’ experience in the early childhood and tertiary sectors. In 2018 she founded Growing Kiwi Gardeners with a vision to enrich young children’s lives through gardening. She does this through a hands-on gardening programme for Christchurch centres, a fully supported online gardening programme for early childhood centres and kaiako across Aotearoa, scheduled webinars, and tailored whole-centre professional learning and development. To find out more you can contact Anita Phone: 0210478844 | Email: anita@growingkiwigardeners.co.nz Website: www.growingkiwigardeners.co.nz | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/growingkiwigardeners REFERENCES Ministry of Education. (2017). Te Whāriki: He whārikimātaurangamōngā mokopuna o Aotearoa. Wellington: Author. Murakami, C., Su-Russell, C., & Manfra, L. (2018). Analyzing teacher narratives in early childhood gardenbased education. The Journal of Environmental Education, 49(1), 18-29. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2 017.1357523 (Murakami, Su-Russell, &Manfra, 2018). Sometimes, even those tamariki who struggle with these social competencies will wait and take turns when they garden. And friendships are fostered as they work together and develop a shared interest in gardening. When we embed gardening into the curriculum, we are growing a generation of tamariki who will know how to grow their own food, understand where it comes from, and what is required for it to go from seed to harvest. The benefits of gardening for tamariki are multi-faceted. Their health, well-being, learning and development is enhanced when they are given the opportunity to engage in regular authentic gardening experiences. being. Tamariki develop a sense of pride and achievement when the seeds they have sown finally produce food for them to harvest. They have been nurturing the plant from the outset. Giving it water, fertiliser and ensuring that it is looked after. Tamariki who become interested in gardening through their ongoing participation may naturally take on leadership roles to care for the garden. These will be the tamariki who remind their teacher’s that the garden needs water and monitor their peers to ensure they are not digging or pulling out plants. Anecdotal evidence from working with groups of pre-schoolers shows that gardening helps them to regulate their own behaviour and learn about rules and boundaries. When they are engaged fully in the process of gardening, tamariki who struggle in other situations, become calm and focused when they are working in the garden. They learn to take responsibility for the care of the garden and show a sense of achievement at what they have done. In an early childhood setting, gardening involves working with peers. Pro-social behaviours can be developed during gardening sessions, where there is often turn-taking and patience required March 2023 { 33 }
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