Sharing Seeds in the Real World

End of year learning exhibitions are a huge part of what we do here at Sycamore. All year our garden expert and parent, Carolyn Day has been working with the students to help them understand how things grow. This Sunday, Sycamore students shared their knowledge about gardening at the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market in Heritage Square! The purpose of this event was to provide students with a real world opportunity to teach others what they have learned about planting seeds and caring for seedlings.

How did you represent the Sycamore community at this event?

“When people asked how I got so good at planting, I said, I’ve been practicing this for 3 years and I’ve been learning to embrace failure. I communicated by demonstrating and giving them a chance to copy what I did.” - C.S.

“I taught people how to garden. We have a really big garden at Sycamore and we brought our gardening knowledge that we’ve learned over the years with us.” - T.D.

How did you engage with people?

“I learned about planting seeds for a long time in gardening. I’m comfortable around grown-ups and kids, so I asked people, ‘Do you want to plant a seed or transplant a seedling?’ and if they said yes, I showed them how.” - L.T.

How did you encourage people to come to your gardening booth?

“I said, ‘Free seedlings!’ and I didn’t cover my face with a plant or be too quiet. Then I said, ‘Hello, would you like to transplant a seedling or plant a seed?’” - E.A.

“I asked people politely if they wanted to plant tomatoes and I would bring them in and help them do it!” - B.D.

What did you discuss with adults at the gardening event?

“Some adults said, ‘I never really thought planting a seed was this easy!’ They wondered what plants we were passing out and what they would have to do to keep them growing.” - E.V.

How did you teach adults and kids about caring for seedlings?

“I taught them how to not get aphids on their plants by putting marigolds next to them and by checking their plants every day. I taught them that when they water plants, it takes off the aphids. I told them to also wash their plants before eating them!” - J.S.

How did you teach your dad to plant a seed?

“First, I had him put in some soil. Then I had him poke his finger in the dirt and he plopped a seed in. Then I had him water it.” - V.S.

When were you most engaged?

“It felt good to water the plants and it was nice to be in a group working with people! I liked teaching people how to garden and see their bright faces when they walked out.” - S.R.

“I was most engaged when I was teaching people how to plant and water. I did all the steps for them and then I took it apart, so they could get their hands dirty and do it themselves.” - S.J.

What did you teach others about how to plant seeds or transplant seedlings?

“I taught them how much sun the plants need, how much to water them, and how many times a day they needed to be watered.” - L.CH. and T.CH.

“A lot of adults don’t know how to transplant seedlings or don’t have the technique, so I gave them the right technique. I taught them how to be kind to plants. At Sycamore we like to make a difference. We care about single-use plastics and being kind to people and plants.” - O.D.

What did you enjoy about the gardening event? What would you say to Carolyn and Trina for providing you the opportunity to teach others what you have learned?

“It was super fun!” - K.A.

“I liked showing everyone that came how to make the plants! Carolyn and Trina, thank you for inviting me!” E.B.

“I liked that I taught other people to garden! I liked how I taught my parents too. Thank you! You are good teachers because you are so nice. You gave me a chance to garden!” - S.K.

A big thank you to Carolyn Day and Trina Calderon for leading our gardening program and for creating such a meaningful experience for students to showcase their learning! Thanks as well to all of the parents at the event for helping document with photos!