KINGSTON, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Student projects centered on gardening can help kids learn such things as plant life cycles, measurement, and applying critical thinking skills.
One such gardening project is helping local students with autism and behavioral challenges gain valuable life lessons, too.
Welcome to The Graham Academy student produce stand, where the fruit and veggies for sale are as fresh as can be.
The school's kindergarten through eighth graders run the stand with a little help from staff. Before these kids wait on customers, there is work to be done.
"We get out the food, we pick them, and then we put them in the bag, and then we sell it," said 8-year-old Aerith Hansen, a student at The Graham Academy.
The kale, cucumbers, cabbage, and other produce are all homegrown or, in this case, school-grown.
"We've got the green cabbage right here. It's still growing. Give it a few more weeks, it should be ready," says Dre Moses, teacher's assistant at The Graham Academy
The Graham Academy garden is located right alongside the school building. Students pitch in and maintain it throughout the year.
"It goes from seed to plate, so you know it helps them grow their own food and, you know, show them how, show them how everything works," explained Moses.
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Each participating student takes on a significant role.
"Some of them will go get the water and then someone will water it and then somebody will, like, plant it, and somebody will pick it, like, out of the ground," said 12-year-old Aiden Kapochus, a student at The Graham Academy.
The school raises something above ground, too.
The female chickens will produce the eggs that the students sell at their summer stand. Keeping the chicks in their coop can be a bit challenging for some of the younger students.
"One time I had to chase the chickens in because one of them went out, and then I had to chase them back in," expressed Hansen.
There are lots of lessons to be learned from participating in this project, including how growing a garden takes more than a green thumb. It takes time.
This teacher's assistant says it's good to watch something else grow that cannot be measured in length, width, or volume. He witnesses students' emotional growth in projects like this.
"It's fun to watch them grow, you know what I'm saying, watch them like from fifth to the eighth grade and what they're understanding and how they are understanding their feelings and their understanding of things, so it's pretty cool," stated Moses.
They are yielding more than a harvest at The Graham Academy garden. They are harvesting students' true potential.
The Graham Academy produce stand in Kingston is open on school grounds on Thursdays from 9:30 to 12:30 until September. Money raised goes toward the school garden and student activities.
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