Term 4 Adventures in Our School Garden
Wow! What a busy and exciting Term 4 we’ve had in the school garden! This year was extra special because our school garden turned one, and what better way to celebrate than with muddy hands, crunchy veggies, buzzing bees, and lots of smiles from our amazing tamariki.
All through the term, we enjoyed an ongoing harvest of broad beans and rainbow carrots. Every week, the children helped pick them, peel them, and pack them into zip-lock bags ready for future cooking. The rainbow carrots were a real favourite, and many of them went home to be shared with families.
The garden was very generous and surprised us with heaps of leeks, giant elephant garlic, and big, leafy cabbages. All of these vegetables were planted back in May! It was exciting to see how something so small can grow into something so big.
On the very last day of Term 4, we had one of the best activities of all — digging up our Christmas potatoes! These potatoes were planted back in Term 3, and the tamariki could not wait to see what was hiding underground.
There was heaps of excitement as the potatoes popped out of the soil — some big, some small, and even some purple ones! Everyone helped count them out carefully so each child could take the same amount home. They made a perfect Christmas treat to enjoy with whānau.
Before the holidays, we worked together to get the garden ready for summer. We did lots of weeding and planted summer seedlings like courgettes and pumpkins, along with their garden friends — corn and beans. We also planted kumara tipu that we had grown ourselves from our own kumara, which was extra special for the tamariki to see the full growing cycle. Now we’re crossing our fingers for some good summer rain. We can’t wait to see what veggie surprises will be waiting for us when we return.
Our fruit trees have settled in beautifully, and we’re hoping this might be the very first year we spot apples or plums growing. The bumblebee garden was buzzing with life, full of wildflowers, and we were lucky to see bumblebees flying happily from flower to flower.
To finish the year, we got creative! The children picked herbs and flowers from the garden and decorated cardboard Christmas trees wrapped in twine. Every tree looked different — bright, colourful, and full of imagination.
As we wave goodbye to 2025 and look ahead to 2026, we can’t wait for another year of growing, discovering, and having fun together in our school garden.
