One of our library board members is a Master Gardener and she asked me in February if I wanted to do a program during Summer Reading with her. She applied for a grant, which we were awarded ($200)! We got together twice to plan out our major themes to use over the course of six weeks, then she narrowed it down further into more specific activities. I made the permission slips, promoted it at my SRP talks, and developed journals to incorporate writing into our program.
Thursday was our first day, and we planted our garden. We had 21 kids sign up (this is the only registration required program for our SRP). 14 of them showed up to help with the planting today! We met at the library, went over some basic rules then walked about six blocks to the Community Garden where we planted seeds and set plants. It was fun to see members of the community (who are not me) interact with kids.
It was a great program, the kids got dirty, an older member of the community walked over to us and chatted with us about some of her gardening experiences. We walked back to the library and wrote journal entries and that was it for the day. It was a great program and I highly recommend it to anyone who can find a way to make it work.
My daycare field trip experience was SUPER helpful with this program. Making sure permission slips were filled out, we had a phone, a camera and most importantly the emergency contact information on hand with us. I also feel like I wasn't as nervous as I could have been walking 14 kids for six blocks and crossing roads. I can't wait until our next time. PS the cost of this program for the library? Free :)
No comments:
Post a Comment