Neighbor News
All Saints' Vacation Garden School Left Them All Begging for More!
Children spent a week learning about the glorious gifts of the environment in an exciting, interactive program.
Nine children, ages four to 12, had a glorious time learning about God's creation, as they convened in Parish Hall, and spilled out on the church green, at All Saints Episcopal Church of the North Shore, Monday, July 11 through Friday, July 15, for five half-days of fun, adventure and learning.
The All Saints' Vacation Garden School focused on teaching the children to care for and appreciate all of God's gifts to us in our world, providing age-appropriate, interactive learning units on water, farm animals, soil, seeds, and harvest. Children had the opportunity to meet and "socialize" with real, live bantam chickens, dig through soil to discover and hold long, wiggly earth worms, learned how some people must carry heavy buckets of water long distances to their villages, and heard about irrigation in an effort to help them understand what a precious commodity water is for life.
They also explored the world of seeds and how they germinate, planted two barrels which they placed at Wenham Street park of the Danvers Rail Trail, and planted their own beans to take home and care for. Then, best of all, the youngsters shared in a mini-harvest by taking gifts of small pots of herbs to church neighbors along Cherry Street. Each pot had a marker with the message, "Our Vacation Garden School is Harvesting New Friendships."
Additionally, the children made labels and wrapped them around water bottles to sell to parishioners and friends. The proceeds will go to the Heifer Project to help rural families install treadle pumps that maximize the number of growing seasons and allow them to expand the types of crops on their land.
And yes, there were even free t-shirts boasting the colorful Vacation Garden School logo for everyone who enrolled!
The response from all the children and their families was unanimously positive, and so, plans are already underway to offer an All Saints North Shore Vacation Garden School in 2017. Enrollment for VGS 2017 begins March 1 -- tuition starts at $50 for the first child with family discounts. Camperships will also be available for families in need. Let us know if you know someone ages 4 to 12 who might be interested. Email our parish administrator at allstoffice@gmail.com or call 978-774-1150 to be added to the wait list.
