a little fun in the sun

Whew!  We are making the best of the recent heat wave and were happy that some children showed up for our 2nd class in the garden this weekend: Garden Detectives.  Garden member Kristen did a wonderful job, sharing a fun activity where the kids explored the garden with their magnifying glasses and jotted down pictures and names of what they found.  We also read some lovely books and had a snack; another great class and an opportunity for the kids to take part in the garden!

Here are some pictures from this weekend's class and the previous one in June:

sharing some fun stories about insect friends in the garden

picking out nature journals and magnifying glasses 

on the hunt for some bugs

found some!

a lovely honey bee, a beneficial insect

making a list of the things we found

and sharing the joy of discovery

some of the great books we read

And some picture from June's class:

discussing an introduction to gardening and how our garden has grown

planting some new seeds and seeing some previously planted ones  

reading some more lovely books

Thanks to our talented teacher Kristen for all of her work with the children's classes!  We love you! :)

We also love to share current studies and news items supporting a healthy diet including fresh local fruits and veggies, so here's a nice one.  Researchers highlight how infants who are fed homemade baby food made from fresh fruits and vegetables are significantly more likely to include them in their diet when they get older as compared to infants that consume standard jarred, prepared baby food.  (Even babies can taste the difference and seem to remember it!).  It makes seeing the really little ones in the garden even more exciting! 

Click here for link to story.

Hope you stay cool and enjoy your week.

~Marykaye