April 14 - Where the Garden Leads, We Follow

This Tuesday began warm for April as bright sun filled the garden. Friends met at the table to paint together using pine cones, flower stems, and dried Queen Anne’s Lace flowers. Baby H made small prints while N spread the paint with his fingers.

As we explored the different shapes and movements, we found ourselves wondering: If a plant could paint, how would it paint? Would plants move like us when they paint, or can we move like them?

Alongside the painting, big bowls of water sat on the table with a potential experiment—an invitation to notice photosynthesis. When a green leaf is submerged in water and left in the sun, tiny bubbles of oxygen may gather on its surface. But the bowls moved in another direction.

After Ha looked at the leaves through a magnifying glass, she gently struck the glass against the bowl. A clear, ringing tone carried through the garden. “Ding ding ding,” she repeated, composing a small song.

We sang If You’re Happy and You Know It to accompany her rhythm, letting the sound fill the space and settle into our bodies. Baby H’s movements suggested she was feeling the rhythm too, swaying and shaking along with the beat.

Our invitations each morning are just that—open beginnings. But often times we find that deeper learning and stronger connections can form when friends take the lead.

When the song came to a close, Mt found a watering can and filled it at the spigot. There was work to do in the garden! He carried water back and forth, tending to daffodils and other small flowers along the edge of the circle. Nearby, N and Ly washed the paint cups in the bowls Ha had finished with. As the water shifted in color, they scooped and poured together, watching the transformation unfold.

Across the space, actions seemed to gather around care. We noticed attention turning toward what might need tending: flowers in the hot sun, a mess that could be tidied or friends in need of a snack. We support each other.

At the blanket friends gathered to greet each other with the ukulele. Each friend played a greeting and we sang together. Hen and Mv found the local bird guide on the table and ran off into the garden to identify birds while some friends headed of to the garden plot to see what might be sprouting.

Most friends stayed at the blanket though, basking in the warm sun and listening or playing the ukulele. We take time to rest in the warm months too. The rays warm our faces and we can feel the energy in our skin as it reminds us what we have been waiting for all winter long…sunshine!

In the garden beds, we noticed pea sprouts pushing up through the soil—our first signs of growth! Some still held their seed shells as they began to unfurl. K pressed the soil gently around them while Mv and Ha carried water to hydrate the new shoots. Ly brought popsicle sticks so we could mark where the peas were growing, helping us return to them later.

Then S let us know that it was time to head over to see the chickens. Some friends fed the chickens green grass while others ran around. Someone took a potty break and that inspired others to try out their bathroom skills. As we grow together we find new ways that we can be independent and new ways that we can encourage each other in growth.

On our way back from meeting with the chickens we took both wagons back. The warm sun had tired out our bodies and we needed to take a break. Hen started a game of Peek-a-Boo with N. They hid from each other and laughed together on their way back to the garden.

We are a mixed-age group and that leads to tender moments between very young and younger children. We all have something to learn from each other across age groups from caregivers to children to babies, we are forming friendships.

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