RIVER VALLEY and OZARK AREA — The Garden for Creative Learning in Russellville, not even a year old, has already gained a reputation in the community as a place that nurtures smart and engaging preschoolers. At the core of its teaching philosophy is the conscious decision to raise the students’ awareness of their community, their playmates and themselves. Paramount to this discovery is fostering an awareness of what the preschoolers put into their bodies and where that food comes from.
The preschool is a dream come true for curriculum specialist and teacher Emily Nealy, who, together with director Debbie Harris, opened the specialized, private school in September. Both are lifelong educators.
With a garden in the school’s backyard, the students are engaged in rich learning experiences with the outdoors as a backdrop. The margins of the yard have been transformed into supporting activities such as a sand pit used in growing worms; vegetables growing in milk crates; a nature trail; a cricket farm to supply food for the indoor menagerie of animals; a butterfly garden; and a sturdy blind from which the children can watch the birds, undetected.
“We believe everybody has their own unique talents, and we play on that,” “Miss Emily” said. “One of our 4-yearold boys, for instance, is all about watering the garden. In his mind, that’s his job, and so we let him at it. He is so proud of that garden because he is responsible for watering the plants. We call him the Watering King.”
The garden, built in the lasagna style, ribbons around theyard with well-marked beds of squash, green beans, strawberries, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, pumpkins, eggplants and, believe it or not, Brussels sprouts. Lasagna-style, or nodig, gardening uses thick layersof organic mulch that lessen the need for watering and discourage the growth of weeds.
Yes, the students eat the Brussels sprouts. In fact, the students eat all the vegetables from the garden, in addition to those purchased from the Pope County Farmers Market across the street. Sometimes, it takes awhile to acclimate the newbies, however.
“We have two students who transferred from other schools,” Emily said, “and they were both very picky eaters when they began, but it didn’t take long for them to catch on. You can’t tell them apart from any other kid now.”
Martha Morgan, mother of 4-year-old student Will, is overjoyed with what the program offers.
“Our son loves the food at The Garden, and we love that it’s delicious and healthy,” she said. “Family involvement is encouraged in their program, and it’s no coincidence that my husband likes to drop by at lunchtime.”
Every stage of the gardening affords teaching opportunities, Emily said.
“The kids have layered the newspaper and coffee grounds on the ground, and every day they empty the compost pail. I have never in my life been exposed to a garden like this,” she said, of the lasagna garden format. “Everything is just exploding on the vines right now, and the kids are just amazed. Every one of them has his or her own patch in the flower garden, and they’ve so enjoyed watching the bulbs and seeds they’ve planted grow and bloom.”
Walking across the street to the farmers market, Emily reminds the students of the shopping items to look for.
“Today, we are looking for corn, blackberries and green beans,” she tells them.
“Those are Patty Pan squash!” the 5-year-old elder of the group, Sidney Nealy, exclaimed, as if all 5-year-olds would recognize a variety of squash.
“Yes, we are growing that inthe garden,” said her mother, Emily.
“I want to get peppers,” Eamon Buchman, 4, said, pointing to the yellow bell peppers.
“We already have those in our garden,” Emily said.
“How about beets?” asked Jack Nealy, Emily’s husband and official cook for the center.
“Yeah!” all the kids answer.
Part of the benefit of growing food is the joy of eating it, but the students are also encouraged to cook what they pick.
“What do you like about the food at your school, Devin?” Lynn Slater asked her daughter.
“Pizza!” the 3-year-old exclaimed, “and spaghetti.”
“She really loves cooking at the school,” Slater said. “They get to choose their own toppings and make their own pasta. They even drink organic milk,” Slater said. “The food was one of the reasons I chose The Garden because they’re getting fresh food and things in season and not relying on all this processed stuff. If we can startthem off right when they’re young, they might make better and healthier lifestyle choices when they get older.”
Today’s menu includes sliced apples, carrot salad, cherry tomatoes grown in the garden, garlic toast and zucchini lasagna.
“Everything in the sauce today, except for the meat and spices, is from the garden,” Jack said.
Jack has always liked to cook, and that interest fit right in with the overall purpose of the school,” he said. So in fulfilling his wife’s dream of opening a preschool, his dream was realized as well.
“Everything is made from scratch or organic, whenever possible,” he said. “There’s not another preschool like this anywhere around here. The kids are exposed to wildlife, and in today’s society, that’s pretty rare. The coolest thing, however, is that they get to plant, grow and eat their own food, and that really excites them. Therearen’t too many preschoolers who will eat Brussels sprouts, for instance. We’re really proud that our kids will eat all kinds of veggies.”
The staff plans the menus around the lesson plans. When the students studied Native Americans, they ate buffalo. When they studied Alaska, they ate elk.
“We love The Garden’s high standards for character education as well as academics,” Morgan said. “One of our greatest goals for our children is that they will grow up to be compassionate, responsible and wellrounded adults. That usually doesn’t happen by accident. In our family, we pray for our kids, teach them and do our best to choose environments and activities that help them develop their whole little persons.”
As “Mr. Jack” empties his zucchini waste into the compost bucket, he ruminates over the similarities between raising one’s own food and raisingchildren.
“You know, we compost for this year to prepare for next spring. It takes a lot of love and work to do this. It’s a lot easier to heat up chicken nuggets or open a can of ravioli. It’s just like planting seeds. That’s the way you have to look at it. You’re planting seeds in these kids - something that will last a lifetime.”
The Garden for Creative Learning, at 2115 W. “B” St. in Russellville, can be reached by calling (479) 880-2115. The first of the three summer sessions is concluding, and applications are being accepted for the second and third camps, Arkansas Bodies of Water and Space Camp.
Chef Jack shares the following recipes: BRUSSELS SPROUTS Ingredients: 1/2 pound bacon, smoked Approximately 2 pounds fresh Brussels sprouts Directions:
Wash and clean sprouts. Half and core each sprout.
Finely dice bacon and fry until crispy. Drain off all but about 1 tablespoon of the drippings.
Over medium/high heat, add sprouts and sauté for five to six minutes. Reduce heat to simmer for another 10 minutes or until Brussels sprouts are tender, but still a little firm.
ZUCCHINI LASAGNA Ingredients: 2-4 large zucchini Approximately 1 quart spaghetti sauce (canned or homemade) 2 pounds ground beef (any ground meat will work) 2 cups Mozzarella cheese, shredded 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese Directions:
With a peeler, peel green skin from zucchinis and discard. Continue to peel the flesh in strips as wide and long as possible. These will be used in lieu of lasagna noodles.
Brown meat and drain. Add to sauce.
Spray 9-by-13-inch casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Layer bottom of dish with zucchini “noodles” in a criss/cross pattern. Spoon 1/3 of the sauce over noodles. Sprinkle 1/3 of the Mozzarella and 1/3 of the Parmesan over sauce.
Repeat layers, sprinkling chopped parsley over the top layer.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes or until cheese has a golden crust on top.
River Valley Ozark, Pages 63 on 06/24/2010