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Busy caring for garden

As the weather is becoming warmer, we get to spend more time in our beautiful garden. In our garden, we get the chance to enjoy gardening by getting rid of all the weeds, planting seeds, watching the roots spread and the tipu (plants) grow. Hopefully, we can also eat our vegetables and fruit and prepare beautiful flower bouquets soon.

Our tamariki are very eager to help with clearing the weeds in the māra (garden) even though it can get so hot in the afternoon. It is definitely not an easy job. Tamariki chose which gloves they want to wear to protect your ringa ringa (hands) from grass cuts and other hazards. We did an observation of the plants in the garden to learn how to recognise which are weeds that we have to remove. We took a lot of time to remove the weeds and put them in the bin. A lot of movement skills are required in this hard job!

Tamariki know about watering the tipu in the mornings and before we go home. On hot days, they need more kātao (water) than usual so it can take a while to get all the flowers and planted seeds ready for the day. On the art shelf, we have some activities that also include cutting paper by following lines, different shapes and textures. Cutting paper prepares tamariki for learning how to use the scissors for also cutting off dead whā (leaves) and flowers. It's very important to remove brown and dying leaves as soon as possible to keep the plants healthy.

Tamariki also help to scrub our fences, gates and deck. Tamariki love to help their kaiako, when we ask for āwhina (help) to tidy up around the sandpit, they often say 'I can do it' and start sweeping right away. We love that our tamariki are active participants in caring for their garden - we can't wait to harvest our vegetables when they are ready!!