Friends of St. Francis is a 35 year old multicultural preschool serving children ages two to five from families of all economic backgrounds.
We are fortunate to have a very large outdoor play area and have always included a garden in that space. Our current garden is a polinator garden with flowers and vegetables. Children plan, cultivate, cook and eat some of the food we grow. They learn about the interaction and interdependence of all the bugs, flowers, birds and animals that inhabit our garden. Often there are parent child gardening projects on Saturdays and in the evening.
We take photos to show our families and friends what we do in the garden. Many of our teachers are enthusistic about this part of the curriculum and bring their skills and interests to enhance the children's learning and build their competence as observers and gardeners, while sharing an appreciation of nature.
