Little Red Jewels From Our Garden ~ Our Potato Harvest

Last May, the children planted seed potatoes in our school garden.  (See In Our Garden Post - May 2011)  We watched as green stems and then leaves began to sprout, grow and eventually wither away.  At last it was time to harvest our potatoes, but where were they?

With shovels in hand, the children started digging the earth and turning over soil.  Squeals of delight rang out as the children saw the little red jewels emerging from the soil.

While some children dug, others quickly scooped up the potatoes, brushed off the soil clinging to them and ran to put them in the wagon.  Our back garden was filled with joy and laughter as the children dug and harvested the potatoes, feeling the hard potatoes and relishing getting  their hands dirty in the fertile soil. 

When all the potatoes were harvested, we were able to fill up the wagon twice.  Each child was able to take home some potatoes to share with their families.  They were delicious!

Our potato harvest occurred during the first week of school.  As our new and returning students interacted with each other and the natural environment, we could see this delightful group coming together to form a lovely Montessori community of children.