NPES "Kinder-Gardeners" grow vegetables at Montrose Metra Garden

If you've been admiring the bright planter boxes on the North Park Elementary Schoolplay lot, you can thank the school’s kindergarteners. The NPES kindergarten class — led by teacher Zoe Ardito — have maintained every aspect of the planters, from deciding what to grow to sowing the seeds to plucking the weeds to harvesting the plants. It's part of their classroom's year-long service learning project, where students take the lead (with help from their teachers) in responding to the needs of the school and community. “We've always studied plants and gardening as part of our science curriculum,” says Ardito, who has been teaching at NPES for six years. “But this year we decided to have it be something that we study a little more in depth.”

They started the in the fall visit to Montrose Metra Community Gardens. “They were able to see what grown vegetables and fruits look like when it's time to harvest, so we could understand what we were working towards,” Ardito says. The hands-on experience saw the students harvesting tomatoes, peas, peppers and eggplants, which were bagged up and donated to Common Pantry, a local food pantry. “Not only did they get to feel like they were a part of this gardening project, but to give back to the community was really awesome for them,” Ardito says.

During the winter months, the class read books on gardening, talked about what happens around the globe in the winter and learned about eating seasonally, including a lesson on late fall and winter vegetables from healthy lunch provider Gourmet Gorilla. Then in late February, the class started to plan their gardens — which is less chaotic than it sounds. “They have grand ideas, but because of our introduction in the fall and winter, they were pretty realistic,” Ardito says. In May, with help from Montrose Metra, who provided the seeds, the kindergarteners planted low-maintenance vegetables like zucchini, tomatoes and peppers which they'll water, weed and harvest before the end of the year,. Then they'll do another round of planting, so they can see the results when they come back in the fall. “I think it promotes global awareness, being part of a bigger picture, to plant and see things come to life,” Ardito says.

According to Ardito, kindergarten is the perfect time for kids to start learning about gardening. “What's beautiful about this age is their excitement and understanding,” she says. “They're extremely intelligent and absorbing everything around them. They're starting to comprehend things, to develop a self-awareness and empathy, and to have an awareness of the world around them. In their development, they're ready for it.” And then there's the dirt. “Playing in the dirt is one of their favorite things to do! They're not afraid. While some kids are more timid, they're willing to try anything.”