Scavenger Hunt Extravaganza!

We're into August and our garden is a jungle! The daikon is towering like skyscrapers, and the beans are spiralling into the clouds. The vision of our garden inspires the kids and they sit down to illustrate what they see. How different it looks from the beginning of June, when all that could be seen was the brown soil of the plot. Now green overwhelms the scene, while yellow squash flowers explode joyful blooms. The red and orange vibrance of the nasturtiums contrast wildly with the soft green blades of corn leaves. Everywhere is spotted with colour and joy. We feel calm and awe in the miracle of our garden.

The radishes are in abundance so we try to pull some of them up. Their roots smell sharp and pungent. Some of us crunch on the crisp snap peas, or steal some sweet raspberries from our neighbours stand.
Today we are going to have a really fun scavenger hunt. Each of us receives a card and marker to check off what we find. All sorts of nature things are on our list. We must find a bird, a butterfly, and two ripe strawberries, an orange flower, and a lonely pear tree. We also have to look for a Ken doll doing the splits, a pink pig with blue earrings, and a bunck of puzzle pieces.

The kids scatter with excitement and search all over the orchard to find the hidden things. Some kids work togther, and others go it alone. Sometimes they ask each other for help, utilizing the power of the collective and mutual assistance. Eventually everything is found on our search cards and now we are immersed in solving the puzzle. Both kids and adults work together, sharing in the enjoyment of accomplishing our goal.

A fresh, juicy watermelon is on the menu for snack time. The kids gobble their pieces up and start into making recipe cards for our scrap book. This is a crazy project in which the kids can learn about the types of things needed for a recipe: Ingredient lists, and directions as well as all different types of foods. We need to put measurments in our recipes as well, and of course a great title. The kids create all kinds of recipes some very practical, and others wild and silly.

Our little garden community is getting stronger and stronger. We love spending Saturday mornings together!