For Indigenous History Month, the toddlers of RisingOaks Early Learning | St. Luke learned how to be better stewards for the planet they live in. Our class is committed to incorporating Indigenous teachings into our curriculum, and one way to do that is to learn how to care for the Earth. The toddlers chodr to plant some flowers, specifically native pollinator wildflowers that will help support local bees, butterflies, and other insects.
One morning in early June, Educator AJ brought out some pots, soil, and seeds. The children were very confused, but curious. “What’s that?” Amit asked, pointing at the bag of soil. AJ said, “That’s soil! The plants need it to grow.” The children were invited to sit down as AJ continued to explain what gardening is and how to grow plants. “Plants need 3 things. Soil, water, and sun! Then they will be happy and grow into flowers. Who likes flowers?” AJ asked. “Me!!!” the toddlers exclaimed. The children were then given the opportunity to scoop the soil themselves and put it in the pot. Then, we added some water to help the soil set and moisten it. “We need water!” said Elise. Next, the children were all given a turn to sprinkle some seeds onto the soil. “So, we have soil, water, and the seeds are in the soil now. What else do we need?” AJ asked. “What’s big and bright in the sky?” Educator Caytlin asked. “The sun!” Noah said. As our last, the toddlers picked a sunny spot in our playground for our flowers.
A week passed, and our flowers showed great progress! The toddlers were very happy to see all the green in our pots from the sprouts that have grown. “They’re growing up!” Theodore said. “We have to take care of them.” AJ said. “Why?” Adelyn asked. “We need to take care of plants, because the plants take care of us.” AJ explained. “Why?” Adelyn asked again. “Can you take a deep breath?” AJ asked and they all took a deep breath together. “You’re breathing air. That comes from the trees! Without trees, we can’t breathe. That’s why we need to take care of them. What about veggies? Who likes veggies?” AJ asked. “Me!!” the toddlers said excitedly. “I like broccoli!” Amit shared. “I like carrot!” Finlay said. “Those come from the plants too, and so we need to be kind to them because they give us food to eat.” AJ explained. “I want to water the plants.” Milley said. “So that they can be big and strong!” Theodore added. AJ gave them spray bottles so that they could water the flowers. “Should we try to dig the plants or pull them out?” AJ asked. “No, we need gentle hands.” Abilene said.
It is lovely to see the children learn the concept of taking care of the environment, and the importance of nature and its role in our lives individually and collectively, as they do in Indigenous teachings. Starting with little steps such as knowing what plants need to grow and making sure the plants are being handled with love and care helps our toddlers grow into good caretakers and stewards of our land.
