Little farmer who loves eating greens, reaping a full harvest from working in the fields

Wenhe Elementary School, located in Guanmiao District, sits in a remote rural area. Most families there make the most of the local natural environment: besides growing bamboo shoots and pineapples, they also keep a small plot in the front or back yard for growing vegetables to feed themselves. The children in the attached kindergarten always chatter during Monday sharing day: "Teacher, the tomatoes at our house have all turned red." "My grandpa grows cabbage too!" As the children began to show off the fruits and vegetables their families grow, one child suddenly said, "Teacher, why don't we grow vegetables at school too?"

And so the idea for a planting course was born - the children wanted a vegetable garden of their own. At first the teachers simply hoped that this activity would let the children get close to the soil, learn to care for plants, and experience the joy and sense of achievement of watching plants grow, with the harvest to be used as organic vegetables for lunch. Unexpectedly, this hidden curriculum gave rise to something even more important: emotional goals concerning young children's health.

After discussing the students' dream with the principal and the director, the idea won encouragement and support, and it was decided to pick a spot on campus and open a vegetable plot. But clearing the existing lawn and piling up soil into raised beds took quite a bit of work. It happened that a corner of the campus had soil left over from a recent unfinished construction project that could be used, so the principal rolled up his sleeves and hauled soil, the teachers took up hoes to loosen the earth, and the children were in charge of clearing weeds and stones and applying fertilizer, and so on.