The interest of these children attracted the attention of the director of the playground and she offered to oversee the work while the playground was in session if some of her children might have the privilege of working in the garden.
This proved to be an amicable arrangement, as by it the garden was kept in good condition all summer. When school opened in September I took charge again, that the children might have the full experience. In my memory lingers a most vivid picture of a cold November afternoon when we gathered what remained of the crops, cleaned off the beds, heaped the refuse in the center of the garden, and had a most glorious bonfire, though it was not election day. We watched the last spark die out, closed the gate, and with regretful steps wended our way back to the schoolroom, to await the coming of another spring.
Our plat measures fifty by twenty-five feet and is enclosed by a fence. The park gardener became interested in the children's effort and added to the success of the work by giving the necessary top soil, lending wheelbarrows, and offering occasional suggestions.
MAY I COME IN?
As a preparation for the outside work we made a thorough study of soil composition and seed germination early in the winter. The children brought pieces of rock, pebbles, shells, wood, and leaves as concrete illustrations and with these before us the following lessons were developed:—
- That soil is made from the wasting away of all kinds of rock.
- That soil is made by decaying wood.
- That soil is made by decaying leaves.
- That the above composites combine to form productive soil.
The object of the first lesson was to teach that soil is made from rock.