Art in the Garden
A few weeks ago Ms.Pat’s and Ms. Yamada’s kindergarteners made an herb tower! The final product is beautiful and adds some playful color to the garden. A big thank you to Heidi McKibbin for facilitating such a fun project with the kids!
Summer in April!
Yesterday Ms.Maureen’s kinders and 1st graders had some fun in the garden. It was a beautiful, warm morning and the kids enjoyed adding some herbs to one of the raised beds and some flowers to the wooly pockets. They watered all the plants by hand and loved smelling and tasting the herbs. We compared Chocolate Mint to regular mint, Pineapple Sage to the more common sage, and Cinnamon Basil to the large leafed Italian Basil. We also added Tarragon, Marjoram and Parsley to the garden. It was an olfactory satisfying day!
It was a Beautiful Day for Veggies!
Today Ms.Yamada’s Kinders planted some yummy veggies including Butter Crunch and Romaine lettuces, Red cabbage, Broccoli, and Chinese Kale. They also planted some herbs such as Italian Parsley and Pineapple Sage and filled the wooly pockets with some bright colored flowers. A huge shout out to Heidi McKibbin for volunteering to work with the kids on this beautiful, sunny spring morning. It looks like everyone had a grand time.
Spring has Sprung!
Yesterday Ms. Libby’s room 201 Kinders and 1st graders had some fun in the garden in spite of the drizzle. They planted peas, nasturtiums, and strawberries along with some colorful annuals in the wooly pockets. They admired the daffodils blooming in the pots they painted and planted last fall. They smelled some herbs and played the guessing game with Chocolate Mint and Rosemary being the top favorites. What was the biggest hit of the day? CHIVES! Almost without exception, the kids were chomping down on the sweet oniony greens with delight. I even overheard someone say “this is the best thing I’ve ever eaten!” Give a kid a garden and you will give them a love of healthy food. It will never fail.
Let’s Grow a Heritage Garden!
Yesterday at the Heritage Night celebration it was hard not to feel proud to be a part of such a diverse and vibrant community. It was wonderful to share delicious food together from all over the world and to see people proudly wearing their traditional dress. The cultural tables in the gym and the music this year made the event extra special. If you missed the garden table last night, you can get caught up here…
We have a dream at Graham Hill to create a heritage garden that reflects this amazing community. We invite ALL families to share their visions and ideas for a space where kids can grow in mind, body and spirit and develop a love for growing food and the natural world. We have an exciting grant opportunity that would vastly grow our garden program in to one that reflects these core values:
DIVERSE. INCLUSIVE. SUSTAINABLE.
Please come dream with us!
At the end of this month we will start planting with some of the classrooms. If you’d like to get more involved with the garden, this would be a great way to step in! It is so fun and rewarding getting your hands dirty with the kids. Please respond to this post if interested.
Spring and planting are in the air. Get a jump start on your veggie garden and visit this great plant sale:
http://seattletilth.org/special_events/marchedibleplantsale
Happy Gardening!
A Loved School is a Happy School
This morning’s work party was a HUGE success. I am completely blown away by the selflessness of the Whole Foods volunteers. They have no affiliation to our school whatsoever, yet a pack of them showed up this gray morning with smiles and enthusiasm and ready to work! Along with the help of some Graham Hill parents we accomplished so much in the front of the school. The ginormous Southeast bed was mulched with wood chips to keep at bay the weeds and blackberry that we’ve spent so much time and energy pulling out. AND… the entire front of the school was raked! Amazing! The result is a clean and tidy school that looks loved and cared for.
A huge thank you to Whole Foods volunteers Russ (organizer and happy spirit), Holly (rock star who has yet to miss a work party), Nick and Kelly (husband & wife team extraordinaire), Lauren (super hero who can wheel barrows and eat apples simultaneously) and Sarah (queen raker). Also to Graham Hill Dad Carol who showed up specifically to cut back some of the large shrubs by the east driveway that were proving to be a safety hazard. Another shout out to Rafael and his son Brian (who is probably our youngest volunteer to date) for all of their hard work and to Rachel and Christine for bringing in the tables from the garden area and for always showing their support in one way or another. And lastly, to Emerald City Tree Service for the wood chip donation. Yay for all of it!
Post Halloween Bulbs
Today we reigned in November by planting daffodils! Ms. Libby’s kinders and 1st graders learned all about bulbs and planted up some beautiful pots they painted last week. They add some colorful cheer to the garden and will be a joy come spring. It was an unusually warm day and the kids enjoyed buzzing around the garden with their sugar high energy. We visited the herb boat for some plant ID and olfactory treats (Lemon Balm was a big hit) and said Hi to the worms. Thank you to Brian Steel for making the time to volunteer. It was a fun morning for all.
The Graham Hill Garden and grounds feel the love!
Today we kicked off the 2013-14 school year with a bang! With the help of both parent and Whole Foods volunteers we accomplished so much in the garden and on the school grounds this beautiful fall morning. We added new plants to the wooly pockets and the garden area was swept and tidied for future class projects. We weeded the beds in the front of the school and pulled blackberry and ivy and collected trash. The large tree in front of the Graham Hill sign at the school entry was cut back to proudly show off our name. We picked the last of the tomatoes and delivered them to the teachers lounge. It was amazing what was accomplished in just 3 hours with so many helping hands!
Thank you so, so much to all who showed up today. A special than you to Shelly Sharp for supplying the plants and to Rachel Harrison for fortifying us with doughnuts (ok, there was fruit, too). Also to those parents who contributed cookies and other treats for the volunteers.
Whole Foods has graciously offered to help us throughout the fall with some other work parties. We have two more dates lined up so mark your calendars:
Fri. 10/4 9-12
Fri. 10/18 9-12
There are so many fun opportunities to get outside this time of year! For events happening in Seward Park, practically your own back yard, look here:
For regional plant sales and garden tours look here:
www.depts.washington.edu/hortlib/calendar/tours_sales.php
Earth Day at Graham Hill
Today we were given the gift of sun and Ms. Libby and Ms. Maureen’s kinders/1st graders, Ms. Kingsbury’s 2nd/3rd graders, and Mr.Nelson’s 4th/5th graders were busy bees in the garden at GH. They planted sunflowers seeds, annual flowers and veggies, and sifted rich soil (gardener’s gold) from the worm bin and mulched the beds. They also weeded and picked up trash from the school grounds. Thanks to all the teachers, students and parent volunteers who helped to make the day a joyful success. It was a beautiful day to celebrate our planet.
We hope to impart so many lessons on our children; the importance and miracle of growing things, the importance of respecting your school and home, the importance of worms sifting though food to create lovely soil, etc…
If just one child walked away today feeling inspired by just one of these things we should be hopeful.
Gardening is for the Birds
Spring is just around the corner, but our feathered friends can still use some help finding food during the last of these cold winter days. Yesterday the Kinders and 1st graders in Ms.Libby’s class made some simple bird feeders to bring home to hang in their gardens or somewhere where they can be viewed from a window. We were able once again to talk about the concept of recycling as we used toilet paper tubes (this had the entire class in giggles which was undoubtedly the highlight of my morning). We simply slathered the cardboard tubes in peanut butter, rolled them in bird seed, and then added some pipe cleaner at the top for hanging. Easy peasy and so very fun. The children will enjoy watching the birds visit and will hopefully feel a bit of that good stuff that comes from helping others.
Graham Hill's Garden Blog 