Preschoolers Learn to Garden Organically

Forty-four pre-school students from the Georgia Pre-K classes at learning center recently participated in the creation of four raised organic garden beds located on the premises of the school.

Every student had the opportunity to dig into the dirt and learn how to plant vegetables, fruits, herbs, seeds and flowers, including a variety of tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, bush beans, eggplant, lettuce, summer squash, beets, basil, lavender and marigold flowers.

Prior to digging into the gardens, the children were asked to identify the vegetables and other plants that they will help to grow through the rest of the school year. The children were deeply engaged and responsive to the reasons about why it was cool to grow your own food. The consensus was that the foods will make you strong and healthy. At first, some of the children were hesitant to get their hands dirty, but with a little encouragement, they dug right in and wanted to plant as much as they could.

Education Station learning center, located at 602 Rockbridge Rd. just off of Lilburn-Stone Mountain Road, will continue to extend the gardening opportunities to all children who attend during the school year and through their summer program, as well. The summer program will offer many other fun activities for children including arts & crafts, reading clubs, outdoor activities and weekly field trips. Please contact Education Station for more information about their discounted summer program at 770-925-3115.

(Editor's note: This article is from an Education Station press release.)