How Does Your Garden Grow?

Gan Aleph had a special visit yesterday from Kayla Nussbaum's grandma and mommy. Kayla's grandma shared with us her expertise on gardening.  She helped the class plant in our outdoor Early Childhood garden box.  The children learned how to pull weeds and clean up the box before they planted.  They used tools called "trowels".  Next the children laid down a fresh layer of soil and dug holes for flowers.  The class spelled out the letters for the Hebrew word "Shalom". Using the soil, they spelled out the letters and then planted herb seeds in that formation.  It it our hope that when the herbs start to grow they will grow in this formation.  We plan on using the herbs to cook in the coming weeks.  Finally the children planted marigolds and impatiens to decorate and frame the box.  The children will be watering daily and keeping a close eye on this amazing project.
As an extension of this gardening project, the children created unique flower pots to adorn their Shavuot tables.  They planted small flowers to take home in these beautiful pots.  These flowers can be transplanted to home outdoor gardens when they outgrow their pots.