How to get children used to eating vegetables? The organizers of the social responsibility project "Sodinčius" of the IKI trade network have no doubt that, first of all, by making friends with them. March 1 a new phase of "Sodinčiaus" began, inviting all kindergarteners in the country to send a photo of their dream greenhouse drawing. The project, which is gaining momentum, will present twenty greenhouses to Lithuanian kindergartens for the second time this year.
According to the organizers of "Sodinčius", together with greenhouses, nurseries will also have the challenge of growing the first crop themselves. Child psychiatrist Linas Slušnys has no doubts about the benefits of this project and says that children will remember self-planted vegetables and the growing process for a long time.
"The principles of healthy nutrition that are introduced to kindergarteners last a long time, because this age is the most suitable for it. Adults often approach various initiatives with fear, questioning or questioning their benefits. Children - on the contrary, enjoy the process, create a good mood and are sincerely happy to see a vegetable grown by their own hands. They will carry this experience throughout their lives and it will be difficult to change their attitude towards vegetables and fruits later. "Sodinčius" provides knowledge of healthy taste, so I hope that similar practices will be adopted or created by other types of projects or various educational institutions in the future," says L. Slušnys.
According to Berta Čaikauskaitė, head of public relations of the IKI trade network, growing vegetables independently in a greenhouse satisfies children's innate curiosity and helps them understand how vegetables and fruits appear on their dinner table.
"Last year, more than 6000 Lithuanian kindergarteners had the opportunity to grow their first crop themselves and thus get to know vegetables. We are convinced that it's hard to like something you don't know, so this year we want to give children the opportunity to experience the joy of gardening for themselves. By growing vegetables on their own, children begin to understand that they do not magically end up on the dinner table or grow on store shelves." - says B. Čaikauskaitė.
According to B. Čaikauskaitė, "Sodinčius", which was a huge success last year, this year aims to destroy the myth that children don't know vegetables.
"greenhouses in nurseries not only allows you to get to know, but also touch the ripening vegetables and taste them right there. Last year we saw that this is a great way to introduce children to vegetables and is hundreds of times more effective than any other form of education. Not only that, we can see that donating greenhouses is really very useful - the kindergartens adapted the equipment they had in different ways, talked to the children about the benefits of vegetables, created various classes and activities and got the little ones interested in the principles of healthy nutrition", says B. Čaikauskaitė.
Kindergarten students who want to participate in the "Sodinčiaus" competition have the task of drawing the greenhouse of their dreams with an emphasis on Lithuania's 100th anniversary and coming up with a name for it. The painted greenhouse can be with the tricolor, coat of arms, Gediminas Tower, Trakai Castle, accents of the country's colors or other symbols of Lithuania that depend only on children's imagination. Anyone interested in children's friendship with vegetables will be able to vote for their favorite drawing until March 30. at: https://www.sodincius.lt/ The winners will be announced on April 3.
Last year, eight out of ten Lithuanian kindergartens competed in the "Sodinčiaus" competition. Kindergartens are donated greenhouses is just one of the many initiatives of the Sodinčius project. Last year, the project organizers selected twenty kindergartens throughout Lithuania, and organized educational excursions to vegetable and fruit farms for their students. Such excursions are planned this year as well. During them, children can see and hear up close the real story of the appearance of fruits and vegetables, from the time they are planted in the garden to the moment they reach the store shelves.
