Roseann Meixelsperger, MGV, along with Russ Parker, Vicki Gee-Treft, and Mark Fox developed a summer program for children that would span five sessions, repeated twice weekly, resulting in fifty (50) kids attending the very first year.
Topics that were covered:
Speakers for each of the presentations were found within the Spooner North Country Master Gardener Volunteers, one of our Summer Interns, and our UW-Extension Ag Development Agent. A story walk was taken by the children prior to each lesson that was topic related. One of our MGV’s is a teacher by profession, and she provided the reading and interactive conversations with the children on those topics. Nutritious snacks were provided that were companions to the lessons, along with cold water. The cold water was appreciated, as many of the sessions saw +90 degree temperatures, and the raised bed area where the children’s garden is located doesn’t have any shade. Vegetables and fruits from the garden were provided as they became available. One surprising note was that the kids were ready and willing to try anything we put forward - such as cherry tomatoes, rattlesnake beans, mild radishes, and grapes. The children not only planted their garden, they refilled the hummingbird feeders and weeded the beds at every session after the initial planting. After almost every lesson, the children went home with something to reinforce their learning of that subject. For instance, the bug hotels were placed in their home gardens. A repurposed 2-liter bottle was used to plant basil in compost mixed dirt, watered by a wick that was placed in the lower portion of the bottle filled with water. The hand painted friendship rocks also went back to the child’s home. A program like this needs supplies - hummingbird feeders, shepherd’s crooks, watering cans, child sized hand tools, etc. The MGV’s generously donated to make this first year work, taking minimal dollars from our budget - mostly to pay for the books and snacks. Lessons learned were that we need to network closer with home school parents, traditional school teachers, libraries, and publicize our offering in all three Counties that we support - Burnett, Sawyer, and Washburn. Our story walk posts didn’t make it thru the entire summer - so we need to convert from wood to something sturdier. Would also like to be able to move the story posts around the garden to be more topic related. The kids who attended were eager to learn, and several of them came to multiple sessions. Their parents were supportive and engaged in the lessons with the kids. A survey sent out after the sessions drew positive remarks from the parents, and most indicated they would like to attend next year. All in all, I think we can modestly say “the Children’s Program was a hit!”
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