Make new friends but keep the old!

Today was a day of new and old faces. The morning shift planted a new line of pineapple plants donated to the school by a local grower. The plants were placed at the top of the garden located by the three sister plants. Their long sharp leaves give a distinctly tropical look to the space even from afar. The afternoon shift was greeted at the front desk by Peggy with great news that their first class would be joining them in the garden in five minutes. We hurried to the garden and were greeted warmly by the afternoon Florida sun. It was hot but we were excited to see the newly planted pineapples. Soon we were surrounded by Ms. Burke’s second grade class, most of who had visited the garden last year and were just about jumping out of their seats to get their hands in the dirt. But there were a few new faces as well who were shyer than the others but still shared their enthusiasm. As a new comer to the garden project I was both excited and nervous to greet them in our community circle. We started with a name memorization game with a hula-hoop which everyone seemed to enjoy in the shade of only tree in the field. Then we went on a walkthrough of the garden following the experienced students who were willing to lead the groups and shared their knowledge with the newer students. After getting acquainted with the Peace Patch we filled our watering cans and in pairs the students attempted to soak the ground to the best of their ability in the beating sun. We were shortly informed by Peggy that we were expecting a second group in the garden that day and we should wrap up. After a closing circle the second graders skipped off to their classroom hot but excited about their work in the garden.
After weeding for a few minutes we were shortly greeted by a more boisterous fourth grade class for round two of garden education. After a name game and asking their favorite part of the garden from last year we followed their enthusiastic lead into the garden for a re-introduction to their beloved garden. They wanted to jump right into planting and tasting the garden but we started where the second grade had left off and continued to water. The fourth graders found watering themselves to be a relief from the afternoon sun but after some encouragement the decided the plants needed it more than they did. Thirty minutes past quickly and they returned to their classroom for dismissal. We were left tired and sweaty but very pleased with our first (and second) attempts at leading classes in the garden. It was a day full of firsts and new experiences made easier by old friends of the garden and their knowledge.