Summer Camp Gardening Project Reaches Final Phase, Moves Steadily Towards Fall

Campers experienced the final phase of the growth cycle this week at Zimmer Preschool Arts & Nature Camp on Valley Road in Basking Ridge. Drawing from their harvest of cucumbers from the preschool’s garden, the campers made the cucumbers into pickles: They washed the cucumbers, sliced them with plastic knives, collected dill from the garden, peeled fresh garlic, and boiled the mixture in water, vinegar and salt. They then stored the pickles in mason jars, where they will stay until preschool starts up in September. The pickles will then be shared with the preschool students who originally planted the seeds last spring.

“We talk with children here about the idea that produce originates from the garden – not the supermarket”, says Zimmer teacher Batsheva Moully. There is a cycle of growth and expansion involved in the foods we eat. We have seeds to care for, tending of the plants, growth of the produce, and finally, the abundance of the harvest. Then we prepare, eat, and share with others. We preserve what is left over, and in so doing, start preparing for autumn.”

“Our preschool is about implanting ideas and letting them grow. If we can incorporate, through our education, the phases and cycles involved in what we are teaching, the kids carry an understanding of this process to academic subjects. They start to learn that they can build upon and expand whatever we teach them. There is a depth to this education, and a natural outgrowth of this a love of learning. We want this for all of our students. “

Zimmer Arts and Nature Camp, for children aged 18 months to five years old, starts its final week of their summer program on Monday, August 13. There are full-day and half-day options. Zimmer Preschool resumes its academic year Wednesday, September 5.