Inch By Inch, Row by Row: How Does a Garden Grow?

After a couple of week's to adjust to the transition from being a working mommy to a stay at home mommy camp counselor, we're getting into the rhythm and slower pace of summertime. Continuing on our overarching theme of Inch By Inch, Row by Row, we're beginning by exploring how a garden grows. The garden we planted from seed in the early spring is now a natural area for play and exploration. We even got it into the ground last night just in time for a majorly rainy and stormy day today!

We are still in the (perpetual) period of noticing what works and doesn't work as well with our days together. Planning our themes and activities on a weekly basis has worked better than plotting out our whole summer in one fell swoop. S has really had an interest in the theme of gardening and so we've settled in it for a bit to explore his interests. I plan and prepare for a theme related activity or two each day but some of our favorites were the unplanned ones--like a parts-of-a-plant nature scavenger hunt we went on at a local park yesterday. S collected all kinds of leaves, twigs, bark, seed pods and pine cones to add to a nature bin at home (just an empty plastic shoe box).

S has loved getting his hands dirty in the garden and in the house. Here's a peek at some of our art and sensory activities

"Dirt Dough & /River Rocks Sensory Play" (baking soda and water plus food color) High Five

We read Eric Carle's The Tiny Seed and used some flowers that were on their way out to paint a paper plate sunflower. Afterward S glued on seeds in the center (dried beans and corn kernels)

Invitation to Play: Parts of a Plant Playdough

S especially loves on of our favorite Friday morning rituals: Invitation to Create Art--I throw a disposable tablecloth on the table and some theme related art supplies. He has at it (and so do I) and clean up is as easy as taking and tossing the tablecloth afterward--just in time to set the table for Shabbos! This particular week was flower themed.

One thing that wasn't working as well was overdoing it on the outings and field trips. We limit longer ones to after naptime to avoid the disastrous accidental car nap and enjoy shorter activities in the morning. One thing that did work very well at home was doing a massive toy rotation. S usually plays downstairs, so I did a selective swap of the toys that were out in his play area and the ones that had been put away in his room for a while.  He was so excited to be reunited with some of his old favorites that he was content to play at home for most of the afternoon yesterday. I'm definitely glad I did this before today's unexpectedly rainy day!

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Inch By Inch, Row by Row

Mommy & Me Camp is back in session! School's out, Mom's home, and Little S (well, not as little--he'll be two in just a couple more weeks) and I have let the adventures begin. There are a few things I've taken with me from our home camp program last summer.

• Be "planful", but also be mindful. Three week's before my preschool let out last year, I had an utter moment of panic. I was about to become a stay-at-home-mom for the first time. I signed my teaching contract and started setting up my classroom when my son was just 5 weeks old. I began teaching two weeks later. Now, here we were after 9 months, and I had no idea how to structure that time. So I did the only thing I knew how to do--built a curriculum with themes and activities to touch upon all of S's developmental areas and interests. I planned a lot. I planned too much. Very quickly, we were having a lot of fun together, but about 50% of my activities were going untouched. And very quickly, I realized that this was OK. We were moving at a different pace. Some things held S's interest longer, some not at all. Some days were wild and busy days and some days were slow and cozy days. Hours within each day held different and evolving energy levels and I loved moving with it rather than against it. 
• Have a Plan B (and C, D, E...) There were parts of days and days as a whole that went exactly as I'd want them to--and then there were those other moments. I kept a colorful list entitled What To Do When All Else Fails inside my walk in pantry closet (i ncidentally also where the chocolate is kept) just in case I should need to hide in there for a moment to gather myself. I think I only hid in the closet once, but it felt great to know that list was in there even after the chocolate had disappeared.
• Get OUT. When you are at home, it is easy to forget to leave. It can also be hard at times to get out the door. Last summer, I also added the factor that I did not yet have my drivers license (a factor I finally remedied this past fall) and so my options for outings were pretty limited to my neighborhood and where I could get on foot/via stroller. Still, it made a world of difference to get out that door every day even if it was just for a walk to the pool in our development or the playground around the corner. There's a lot of value in fresh air and vitamin D.
• Review, Revisit, Reassess and Readjust. And do it again and again. What I learned last summer is that I loved being home with my son. Furthermore, I gained a great deal of confidence in being at home with him. I learned that I knew him and through that, I knew myself. I can recall a barely rounded belly when I was pregnant with S when I first announced to the world that I was going to work after he was born. I love teaching and I "knew" about myself that in order to be good mother at home, I would have to be out of the home for part of the day and working. Now, two years later, I think I could reword my previous statement from I "know" that I should be a working mom to "I was most confident in being a working mom." 

After my first year of teaching, an acquaintance asked me if I felt more confident as a teacher now that I am a parent. I said that the opposite was actually true; I felt more confident as a mother after going back to teaching. After many months of discussion and thought on the matter with my husband, we made the decision that S and I would take this following year to be home together. I was truly blessed to teach in an amazing school over these past two years. I was supported, encouraged and nurtured as a teacher--particularly as a teacher who was also a first time mother. We had an incredible team of staff and students alike. It is that factor that makes it most difficult to set something aside and also that factor which makes it possible to go forward on this next leg of my family journey. I am reminded of the popular folk tune "Garden Song" by David Mallett:

Inch by inch, row by row, I'm gonna make this garden grow
All it takes is a rake and a hoe and a piece of fertile ground
Inch by inch, row by row, someone bless these seeds I sow
Someone warm them from below 'til the rain comes tumbling down

Pullin' weeds and pickin' stones, we are made of dreams and bones
I feel the need to grow my own 'cause the time is close at hand
Grain for grain, sun and rain, I'll find my way in nature's chain
I tune my body and my brain to the music of the land

Inch by inch, row by row, I'm gonna make this garden grow
All it takes is a rake and a hoe and a piece of fertile ground
Inch by inch, row by row, someone bless these seeds I sow
Someone warm them from below 'til the rain comes tumbling down

So plant your rows straight and long, temper them with prayer and song
Mother earth can keep you strong if you give her love and care
Now an old crow watching hungrily from his perch in yonder tree
In my garden I'm as free as that feathered thief up there

Inch by inch, row by row, I'm gonna make this garden grow
All it takes is a rake and a hoe and a piece of fertile ground
Inch by inch, row by row, someone bless these seeds I sow
Someone warm them from below 'til the rain comes tumbling

Inch by inch, row by row, someone bless these seeds I sow
Someone warm them from below 'til the rain comes tumbling down

So summer is here, camp is on and S and I are taking it inch by inch and row by row. In fact, that is the overarching theme of our program this summer. Here's a brief peek at some of our activities so far:

Got a Case of the Mondays? Try Science...

What do you want to be when you grow up? For some reason, I get asked that a lot. My most common response is "a little bit taller" and I think that I may well be on my way. My feet have already grown a half size since giving birth to my son! There have been some other creative responses along the way, to which a dear friend once remarked that he never worried about me because I would never grow up. But just in case I do grow up at some point...

I'd like to maybe live in Mr. Rogers' neighborhood...

or maybe Dr. Honeydew and Beaker need a new assistant...

...and by far the greatest professional compliment I ever received was being told I resemble Ms. Frizzle. *Note to self, add some cardigans, a white lab coat, and some amazingly patterned dresses to my wardrobe...these should go nicely with my now size 7 shoes!

But in all seriousness, I love what I do. Being a wife and a mommy and a preschool teacher mixes all of my very favorite things into one wonderful, messy, amusingly chaotic and beautiful life. In going back to lead teaching last year, I enjoyed the very best of all worlds. I am privileged to have support and encouragement from my husband, amazing care for my son and the ability to still be home with him by 1:45 each day, and I work in a fabulous school. My classroom looks how I wish my house looked--thoughtfully decorated in the muted earth tones and methodical display of a Montessori inspired Jewish pre-k environment. (My home looks a little more like a tornado of Cheerios and applesauce came through.) Around January time, when the weather in Richmond, VA kept us indoors a bit more than out, I realized my thoughtfully decorated and methodically organized classroom needed something. It needed a splash of color. It needed stuff to 'splode. It needed a mess on the carpet, for goodness' sake! It needed science. And so, with inspiration from my mother and from my former supervisor and my own curiosity in tow (not to mention a very supportive and patient boss), Mad Science Mondays were born.

There are so many reasons I feel strongly about incorporating a science curriculum into my work with preschoolers. Science is more than just making stuff 'splode, though that is a fringe benefit. It is a way of experiencing and perceiving the world around. It teaches more than just chemical reactions--it fosters critical thinking, confidence, a value of process over product, an acceptance of failures as part of that process and in that, a drive to try again. By the end of the school year, my kids' favorite day of the week was Monday! Who loves Mondays?! Scientists in training do, that's who! And by that time, our lessons extended beyond the mess on my carpet.

Oil and water don't mix, but science and religion do! It is very important to me as a teacher in a Jewish preschool that my science lessons (or any lessons) are not separate from the religious aspect of my curriculum as a whole. Personally, one of the greatest factors that drew me into the flavor of Orthodoxy I practice is the role that science and intellect play. Chassidus encourages us to ask the tough questions, to dissect ancient liturgy and to use our brains in conjunction with our hearts and our souls--to use what naturally makes us human for a G-dly purpose. So, too, do I utilize lessons in science within my classroom to incorporate Jewish themes throughout our year. At Rosh Hashanah, we explored an apple from seed to stem. At Chanukah we experimented with liquid density as we learned how just like the matter in our experiment, the Jewish people rose above their circumstances like oil over water--and of course a little sensory bottle was a fun way to bring the lesson home for each student. As we lit wax candles in our Menorah by  night, we experimented with heat and wax by day. At Pesach, we found many of our science materials on our seder plate. Egg science always makes for some egg-celent egg-speriments (not to mention fabulous puns that even my 4 and 5 year olds got sick of after a while and I never do). There are very few experiments I love more than rounding up the troops (and we invited the 3 year old class in on this one) to perform the Magnificent Egg Drop Egg-speriment. Kids come of up with the most amazing ideas and ways to build an egg protector, and even photos don't do justice of the wonder and egg-citement in their eyes when they watch it being test launched from the top of our playground structure.

Some experiments worked... Simple chemical reactions are a hoot to watch, and our exploding science went beyond the basic baking soda and vinegar volcano. One of my very favorite lessons was one we did in the winter. I prepped a mug in the classroom with some baking soda hidden beneath a heaping pile of cocoa powder while the kids played outside. I used a ceramic pitcher and filled it with vinegar. When I brought them inside, I informed them that we would have science right after I made myself a cup of cocoa. They were annoyed: I was making myself cocoa during their science time?! I just needed to add the hot water (a.k.a. vinegar) to the cocoa powder (don't forget the baking soda underneath) and KABOOM!!! What just happened to my cup of cocoa?? Now, of course, their impatience has melted into laughter (they are still too excited to be angry that I totally just lied to them) and they were ready to use their scientific minds to figure out why the cocoa exploded. We had a lot of fun with exploding science--teaching about mixing colors, making exploding sidewalk paint. It's always enjoyable to see the results of an experiment work and work so instantly. Sometimes, however, our experiments required patience. We had to wait a number of hours or days or weeks to see results. Other times, experiments we tried did not work at all...

Failure is part of the process... I love that in the world of science, mistakes are OK. We had a few flops here and there. Color mixing mishaps. Garden science that turned into nothing but compost. Electricity science that never quite ignited... And that was a very important part of teaching science as well as life skills. Sometimes things do not go as we plan or hope. There is always something to be learned. There is always something to be gained. And we can try, try again. We would talk about why our experiments hadn't worked and brainstorm ideas about how to improve. Some of the world's greatest scientific discoveries were born out of giant mistakes!



The wonder of WHYs... Ever been caught in the crossfire of a battle of whys? This is very common with four and five year old children and rather than fight against it, I embrace it and go with it. Science encourages children to question their surroundings and to involve critical thought in their decision making. I love the magic and curiosity of childhood. I hope I never outgrow it. That said, I also love watching children use evidence in their growing knowledge of the world around to help explain and explore life's wonders. Science makes thunder less scary. Science explains the static shock when we zoom down the plastic twirly slide on the playground. Science helps us predict and observe and process a world that is so full of new and exciting and sometimes frightening phenomena.

Don't DO try this at home! Yeah, it can be messy and gooey and it takes time and planning and preparation. I do tell my scientists in training to always ask their parents before trying an experiment at home. As often as possible, I send them home with simple and inexpensive experiments to test on their own or with their families. Many of the materials we use are household items or items easily found in the grocery store, drug store, craft store, dollar store, even nature. I have seen science in my classroom produce qualities of critical thinking, self discipline and independence that are a joy and privilege to watch. I always love to hear from parents that their children have enjoyed Mad Science Mondays and look forward to it in school. I love even more when I hear that they incorporated these activities at home, be it in the yard or the kitchen.

As I prepare for the school year ahead, I'm sifting through some favorite old experiments and deciding if this will finally be the year I am brave enough to try this one. I am hoping to keep up with some of the process here on the blog as well. Now that the nine days and Tisha B'Av are behind us, I am off to test out the chemical reaction between piles of dirty clothes and linens and laundry detergent...