What Do You Grow in KinderGARDEN?

2007 Copyright © Jen Ryley Welsh

I love the outside; the cool grass, the warm day.

I love when all I have to do is just play.

But the time’s growing near to give up my fun,

Summer’s almost over, my fun’s almost done.

School starts next week and all I want to know,

What is it we will we do planted all in a row?

Dad says I’ll grow in Kindergarten. What does that mean?

Will I grow like carrots, broccoli, lettuce and beans?

So I asked my Mom, she likes to play in the dirt,

She makes lots of things grow, she’s quite an expert.

“Mom,” I say puzzled, “I beg your pardon.

What do you grow in KinderGARDEN?”

“Oh sweet-pea,” she says “It’s a wonderful spot!

There’s growing and showing, you’ll love it a lot.

You’ll be amazed by what you hear, feel and see,

You’ll discover just how fun growing can be!

There are teachers, like gardeners who will help you to grow.

They will show you things that you might not yet know.

They plant seeds of learning that will sprout in your head,

and they’ll sprinkle what you need to keep your mind fed.

“Yes my dear bud you are ready to bloom,

Wait ‘till you see your very special classroom.

You’ll be planted safe where learning takes place.

It is a fun and exciting, simply magical space.

There will be lots of room for you to grow and explore,

and you will think about things you’ve never thought of before.

You will have plenty of time to grow at your own speed.

You’ll have crayons, games, music, books;

everything that you’ll need.”

“But what do we grow? I still don’t understand.”

I said picking tomatoes with my very own hands.

“Well my pint-sized pumpkin, there will be lots of growing.

You really can’t help it with the new things you will be knowing.

You’ll grow a wild imagination so you can dream of new things,

and make up new stories about dinosaurs, spaceships and kings.

Your curious mind will keep growing everyday,

You’ll have many new thoughts as you work and you play.

There will be time for running so you’ll grow some fast feet,

and times to grow listening ears sitting quietly in your seat.

Then times when you’ll teach others by good showing and sharing,

And you’ll grow a big heart and learn how to be caring.

You’ll grow big strong bodies with healthy foods you’ll be eating,

And you’ll grow lots of strong friendships with the fun friends you’ll be meeting.

Oh, my little buttercup you will grow up to new heights,

And it is all about learning, not getting everything right.

By the time next spring comes you’ll be bursting with new growth.

We’ll be so proud of you, your teacher and family both.

When next summer comes you’ll have even grown tall,

then you’ll be ready to replant yourself again in the fall.”

“Wow!” I thought to myself, “This is going to be great.

I am ready to grow, I really can’t wait,

To see what pops up. I’m ready to get started,

As I grow all the cool stuff in my new kinderGARDEN.”

KEEP THE LEARNING GROWING

Did you know:

• The earliest evidence for ornamental gardens is seen in Egyptian tomb paintings of the 1500s BC.
• Children all over the world go to special places of early learning.
• In New Zealand, kindergarten lasts 2 years before Primary School, from age 3 to 5.
• In Bulgaria, the children go to kindergarten from age 3 to 6.
• In Catalonia, the equivalent term to kindergarten is Parvulari. The children go to kindergarten from age 3 to 6.
• In China, the equivalent term to kindergarten, pronounced as you er yuan in Chinese. Children go there at the age of 4 and leave it at 6.
• In Hong Kong, kindergartens provide three-year courses where children begin when they are aged 2 years and 8 months.
• In India, kindergarten is divided into two stages; lower kindergarten for ages 3 to 4 years and upper kindergarten 4 to 5 years of age.
• In South Korea, children normally enter into kindergarten around the age of 5, and leave it just before age 7.

• Friedrich Wilhelm August Froebel officially opened the first kindergarten on 28 June 1840 in Germany. The first kindergarten in the United States was founded in Watertown, Wisconsin by Margarethe Meyer Schurz in 1856. The first English-language kindergarten in America was founded in 1859 in Boston by Elizabeth Peabody. The first publicly financed kindergarten in the United States was established in St. Louis in 1873.

GO PLANT A SEED (service projects)

• Organize a food drive in your community to gather fresh produce from local gardens to be donated to the local soup kitchen or food pantry. Create a community garden to grown food for the pantry.

• Host a seed planting party just after school lets out for the summer. Try planting different kinds of veggies and then have your guests back again for a harvest party just before it begins in the fall to gobble up the fruits of your labor.

• Plant a container garden from clippings of existing plants and donate them to local nursing homes, library or other places in town.

• Visit http://www.mypyramid.gov/kids/index.html to learn more about good nutrition and eating healthy. Print out and color one of the posters and hang in up for everyone in your family to see. Help your family pan healthy meals. Figure out what things you eat each day come from a garden.

• Find a local farmer’s market in your area and plan an entire meal using only things that are grown in gardens near you.