Growing in the Kinder-Garden

by Cassidy Ball

Our Kinder-garden has been a special part of our class, with students checking the daily progress of the vegetables and anticipating the next harvest. We have closely watched the garden's changes and cheered on our one tiny pumpkin as it turned orange. The Coyotes have taken an interest in how plants grow and have been scientists guessing why there have been changes in the garden.

One of our weekly special classes is Culinary Arts. Each week, we make a different dish, often incorporating what we are growing in the garden. I will look at what is ripe in the garden and base our recipes that week around what’s available. We have made a variety of recipes, ranging from Ratatouille and salsa to soups, all featuring our garden veggies. The Coyotes are invited to come help harvest and take great pride in showing everyone what we have collected to make in Culinary. 

Trying new foods can be challenging for kids, but having seen the vegetables in the garden and watching them grow makes them more interested in trying them. We always talk about how we get new taste buds every night and that it’s our job to find out what new taste buds we got. We’re still working on our eggplant taste buds, but I am so proud of the Coyote class for trying new foods and discovering which new taste buds they have!