The social responsibility project "Sodinčius" was started a year ago, during which modern greenhouses were installed in twenty Lithuanian kindergartens and one children's day care center, and autumn harvest is harvested in September. According to the representatives of the kindergartens, their students, who sowed, looked after, grew and later tasted the grown vegetables themselves, discovered a new activity that inspired them, which encouraged the formation of social skills and responsibility.
Gardening also taught children to cooperate
"We know very well that children are best able to develop appropriate skills through active participation in family and community activities. We installed greenhouses in the kindergartens, hoping to encourage children to eat vegetables and fruits more often through the direct experience of growing them. It turned out that the first season of gardening gave the children much more - they learned to cooperate, help each other, take responsibility for growing vegetables and, of course, fell in love with gardening," says Berta Čaikauskaitė, head of public relations of the "Iki" shopping network, which initiated the project.
According to B. Čaikauskaitė, the authors of the project hope that kindergarten children will acquire long-term healthy nutrition and social skills based on benevolence within a few years. This initiative received extremely strong support from the community: parents of kindergarten children, city municipalities and the President of the Republic of Lithuania contributed enthusiastically. Dalia Grybauskaite. The national social security campaign "For a safe Lithuania" under the auspices of the President of the country joined the project, including children's day care centers attended by families at social risk.
"It is very important that the results of the first season of the project confirmed that this initiative promotes the formation of social skills - it is for this purpose that children's day centers that educate children from socially at-risk families contributed to "Sodinčius", says B. Čaikauskaitė.
He looked forward to gardening
The teachers and managers of the kindergartens that participated in the project unanimously claim that the gardening initiative simply enchanted the children - the kindergarteners eagerly waited for their turn to water and take care of the vegetables.
"We grew vegetables in groups, each of which knew when it was time to work in the greenhouse. The children were looking forward to this activity, to which the parents also made a strong contribution, so this initiative brought together our kindergarten community for joint activities. We sowed and grew the most diverse vegetables, we harvested such a bountiful harvest of cucumbers and tomatoes that it was enough for the children's lunch and dinner", said Loreta Jankūnienė, teacher of the nursery-kindergarten "Draugystė" in Panevėžys, which educates up to 18 groups of kindergarteners of different ages.
They themselves decided what to grow - from tomatoes to watermelons
The kindergarten teacher adds that the greenhouse helped the children get to know the cycle of growing vegetables - the children learned when it is time for cucumbers and tomatoes, and when it is time for onions, dill, basil and other herbs. Daiva Naujikienė, the deputy director of Vilnius Volungė kindergarten-school, is seconded by the teachers of "Draugystės" kindergarten. "The children enthusiastically chose what they wanted to grow - they even sowed abundantly sprouted beets and a few watermelons. For lunch, we used to prepare part of the side dish from the salad grown by the children, the taste of which, knowing, was different for the children. The most important thing is that we learned the cycles of horticulture, and we grew some vegetables for next year's sowing", says D. Naujikienė.
While playing "vegetable market", they learned to trade
The deputy director of the Vilnius kindergarten-school adds that the greenhouse performed many functions in the life of the kindergarten. On the one hand, it was a great engaging outdoor activity for children. On the other hand, they were so enthusiastic about working, looking after and observing the growing of vegetables that it is likely that this skill will remain with them for a long time. Finally, the greenhouse became a playground for them, where children imitated the vegetable market.
According to the kindergarten teachers, the first season helped them understand what they should do differently next year - to sow the greenhouse area not according to the principle of groups of kindergartens, but according to the types of vegetables, thus facilitating the maintenance of the greenhouse.
"In the summer, when there are fewer children in the kindergarten, the children also had to take care of the "neighbors'" garden - so this responsibility for the vegetables grown by others taught them the principles of communal activity", - this is how Vitalija Vitkauskienė, director of the "Du Gaideliai" kindergarten in Alytus, describes the benefits of the gardening project.
An autumn vegetable festival is being prepared for the community
According to V. Vitkauskienė, the kindergarten wants to thank the community that actively voted for the "Sodinčiaus" project by organizing a vegetable festival in autumn. In addition, in the spring of next year, kindergarten teachers and students plan to grow flowers to decorate the kindergarten environment before the vegetable season.
"The impressions of the kindergartens after the first autumn season only confirm that we must continue this initiative on a much larger scale than we initially planned. It is obvious that such a small change in the kindergarten as a greenhouse for gardening teaches children to take care of the most important things in life themselves, to help those around them and the community", B. Čaikauskaitė, the public relations manager of "Iki", sums up the results of "Sodinčiaus".
The "Iki" shopping chain, which presented the "Sodinčius" project in September, promises that the education of kindergarteners about vegetables will not end with the donated greenhouses. Currently, children from 20 kindergartens visit different Lithuanian farms and observe the real path of vegetables - from planting in the garden to appearing on the shelves of retail chains.
