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A place of green thumbs
Through gardening, the tamariki of BestStart Hillcrest have developed a responsibility to care for plants. Gardening allows our children to learn and discover the science of plants, the weather, animals, the environment, and nutrition and how all of those are linked together.
Over the past few weeks, the children have been involved in the process of creating gardens around the centre, gardens for kai and gardens to add colour to the playground. The children were excited to see the tip truck arrive with soil in it, they got straight to work to prepare the gardens for planting. Whanau were involved by bringing in seeds and plants to share with the centre. The children check on their gardens every day, help feed and remove any small creatures who will also enjoy the benefits of our gardens.
By offering gardening experiences our children learn to develop a love and respect for the environment and a natural curiosity about nature, enhancing their own happiness and wellbeing. The children are developing their responsibility by caring for the plants, gaining self-confidence by seeing what they have grown.
Gardening together allows children to develop social skills such as teamwork and shared caring. It allows children to learn and discover the science of plants, the weather, animals, the environment, and nutrition and how all those things are linked together. Children develop knowledge about growing food and how we can sustain life within nature.
We are all excited and eager to utilise the delicious kai that has been grown with love in our gardens.