ILLINOIS VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CENTER LEARNS ABOUT HORTICULTURE

Illinois Valley Community College issued the following news release:

Illinois Valley Community College's Early Childhood Education Center students, ages three to five years are working this semester with professor of Horticulture, Lauri Carey in the hope of answering some of life's age old questions as to why plants die and will they grow again.

"I wanted to share resources we have that might interest the children. I think plants are cool and interesting. Showing students early may spark a lifelong interest in gardening or even a career," said Carey.

The first Horticulture classes were offered at IVCC in the fall of 2000. The certificate program started the following fall and later degree programs were added. There are 26 students taking horticulture classes this semester.

To have a solid horticulture program IVCC requested and received a greenhouse through a federal grant. "Once the greenhouse was constructed close to the ECEC center, the students were very eager to see which plants would be grown. Since then each class has delighted in peeking through the doors to watch the plants mature. So, at the beginning of this year I was delighted with the opportunity for the children to actually work in the environment," stated Marilyn Worsley, ECEC director.

To prepare the children for learning in the greenhouse it was ascertained what the children currently knew about plants. Prior to the children touring the greenhouse at IVCC, they made a list of what they thought they would see. Classroom activities were then planned based on their interests. Children planted bean seeds in glass jars and charted their growth. The teachers used clever methods to help the children learn by setting the plant names to childhood tunes. Other activities involved making paper flowers with different types of petals and modifying their dramatic play area into a simulated garden.

"Once the children learned we were to turn their play area into a garden the children went crazy with delight thinking how this might happen. Soon we had blue paper on the ceiling for the sky, paper and cotton ball clouds, hanging butterflies, grass and flowers being made. The children are so excited and working hard to make their own beautiful garden," said Sharon Moore, ECEC teacher.

Since the greenhouse at the college is designed for adult learners, modifications needed to be made to accommodate the special needs of children. "The benches in the greenhouse were too tall for the children to be able to see what they are working on so, I asked Professor Doug Stockley to build benches at the appropriate height," Carey explained.

With the greenhouse ready, the first group of children arrived on Friday, March 3 and learned to plant tomato seeds and make cuttings from coleus plants. "We got to plant tomato seeds. You got to cut one plant so, you can put it in the dirt so it can grow back again," said four year old Genevieve Charry.

After learning about the importance of safe handling of plants and chemical procedures Heidi Story, age five shared her sage advice, "some of them wash their eyes if they get something in them." As Eric Dudek, age three reminded his classmates to "remember the cactus flowers were pokey and sharp."

"I was impressed with how quickly they process the information. They always have interesting questions and comments," stated Carey. As four year old Gianna Elias commented on seeing a hanging plant. When asked why it was hanging instead of sitting on a table she explained, "So it won't smoosh the sides hanging down, we don't want the plant to break."

ECEC assistant teacher and student Jessica Diskin commented about her experience with the children in the greenhouse. "I was so excited to go to a greenhouse, because I had never been in one before. I learned a lot just from the children asking questions. The place was beautiful I could've stayed there for hours."

Recently the children returned to the greenhouse to check on their plants and were delighted to discover their tomato seeds had grown into small plants. Plans for the rest of the semester include planting nasturtium seeds in the greenhouse, the annual planning and planting of the vegetable garden and preparing and planting a new rainbow garden.

"In this time of stationary activities like video games and the internet and problems like childhood obesity it is extra important to start children's love for nature early in life. Children no longer get to enjoy the freedom of exploring meadows, creeks, and forests these days like we did in the past. With so much fear of cancer causing rays and stranger abductions so many children are hidden away from what is extremely needed in their lives. Studies have shown that being exposed to nature reduces stress in children's lives. The gardening that we do at the center allows for this natural stress reducer while inspiring children's curiosity, environmental awareness and many other important developmental skills," added Worsley.

For more information about the center contact Marilyn Worsley, 815.224.0218 or visit the website at www.ivcc.edu/ecec.