Children, gardens blossom with care

At the first hint of spring, when the increasing daylight hours start to be noticed, and when the intensity of the sun seems stronger, I always end up in the middle of the garden section at our local stores. I first start thinking about what we might want to grow in our garden at home, but I end up filling my shopping cart with gardening things to take to school.

A few weeks ago, when the sun was blazing, I knew it was time to start planting seeds with my first-grade students. A grandmother who was helping in my classroom got really excited when I asked if she could help the students with this project the following week. She mentioned that she still had a pumpkin left that she grew last summer, and that she would bring it in so the students could use the seeds from it for their own starts.

The following Friday, this grandmother and her pumpkin were the highlights of our week. After cutting the pumpkin open, she helped each child fill a container with soil and then dig out a seed with their soil-covered hands and plant it. She also helped them plant nasturtium, marigold, and tomato seeds.

The following week, the students would eagerly enter the classroom each day and head to the windowsill to see if their seeds had sprouted. Finally, one container showed the first sign of green, and there was a sense of magic in the air.

There was something absolutely magical for 6- and 7-year olds to see something of a very different form and color break through the surface of the soil. The idea that they could dig a seed out of a pumpkin, put it in soil, water it, wait patiently, and finally have a plant was incredibly exciting. It was also quite fascinating for them to see how the seeds for the various kinds of plants were so different — the smooth, tear-dropped shaped pumpkin seed, the tiny speck of a tomato seed, the long and skinny marigold seed, and the hard ball of the nasturtium seed.

Soon, the nasturtiums and marigolds started sprouting, followed by the tomatoes. Every day, after entering the classroom, the students would quickly head to the windowsill to observe their plants.

They were in awe with how quickly the pumpkin leaves grew. They laughed when the baby plants popped up through the soil and still retained the clump of misplaced soil on top of the plant like a little hat. They empathized with the students whose seeds hadn’t sprouted yet.

Eventually, almost all of the seeds sprouted, even if it took a couple of planting attempts.

They took their responsibility of caring for and nurturing their plants very seriously. Once they had success with the pumpkin, nasturtium, marigold and tomato seeds, there became a whole new awareness of what else they could plant.

Apple seeds were saved from lunches to plant, in addition to orange seeds and seeds from other fruits and vegetables. The possibilities seemed endless, and the students wanted to try as many plantings as possible.

As I reflect upon this plant growth, the resulting excitement, and the untapped possibilities, it reminds me of our job as teachers. We plant seeds of knowledge each day, but the timing and growth rates are unique to each child. If they don’t sprout right away, we continue to nurture and care for them, encouraging and boosting them along. When things don’t sprout the way we planted them, we try a different way.

We also realize that the growing conditions are different for each individual, but given time and care, we try to help each child reach his or her potential. We try to make sure our students have deep and strong roots academically, emotionally, and socially. When adverse conditions come along, we protect them or prop them up and give them extra nurturing and support, just as we would with our plants.

Teachers gain the same sense of satisfaction and excitement when we see growth in our students and when they begin to blossom as the children have when they see the blossoms of their garden seeds. Both truly do seem magical.

Diana Sloan-Basner is a first grade teacher at Birchtree Charter School. She has planted seeds and gardened since she was in first grade.