Nancy Laughbaum

I have always been fascinated by gardening and the growth of various vegetables. About a year ago, I created a community garden at an economically disadvantaged school, where I taught lessons about healthy eating and how to grow food at home. I taught second graders at a school near my house for about 6 months and I would leave school breaks to teach lessons some afternoons. We planted a variety of vegetables including carrots, cucumbers, romain lettuce, and curly kale. The students were elated when the vegetables were finally ready to be harvested, and they enjoyed trying the different plants they had learned about for months. It surprised me that they were so excited to eat kale and lettuce as 8 year olds, but I was excited too nonetheless. A little girl even tried to take the remaining lettuce out of the harvest bucket because she said she loved lettuce and wanted more. This experience was incredibly rewarding and allowed me to share my knowledge and love for the outdoors. It also taught me the importance of fostering relationships with others and fully appreciating the world around me. Now, this program continues with one of my close friends teaching the lessons to the next class of second graders.