A mini farm-to-table experience

By Ettie Zaklos, Preschool of the Arts Founder & Director

It’s hard to read the news without seeing stories about the farm-to-table movement, the slow food movement, organic food, sustainable agriculture and kitchen gardens. Here, at Preschool of the Arts, we believe in teaching our children about the world around us, our responsibility to the environment and our connection with nature. The environment, also known as the “third teacher” in Reggio philosophy, plays a crucial role in the learning experience of children.

To bring that vision to life this year, we embarked on an exciting initiative to enhance our professionally landscaped Garden of the Arts and offer an even more comprehensive, outdoor experience that can engage the children in microenvironments.

In the fall, we launched an ambitious $50,000 “Tiny Seed to Table” Garden of the Arts enhancement project. This initiative will create a magical new botanical wonderland on our campus with a new vegetable and herb garden, butterfly and blossoms garden, fairy grove and kitchen garden with a sitting nook.

Preschool of the Arts children delight in hands-on nature explorations in the garden and outdoor classroom.

We are so excited to embark on a new experiential culinary journey, as the enhanced garden will allow our children to plant, harvest and prepare produce-based snacks in their own sustainable garden and outdoor kitchen. We are thrilled that the mini farm-to-table experience right here at POTA will give our children the unique joy and satisfaction of connecting to the food they grow!

I am excited to share that, at the time of this writing, we have nearly reached our fundraising goal, allowing us to begin construction on the new garden this school year! The garden will enliven our school environment for the pleasure of our children and school families, providing the optimal setting for engaging lessons pertaining to nature and the environment.

We are deeply grateful to Patrick and Regina Korn of Polar Engraving for generously donating beautiful garden pavers that are being engraved with the names and messages of our generous donors. We invite the Greater Naples Jewish community to partner with us in this exciting effort and create an everlasting legacy by dedicating a professionally engraved garden paver that will forever grace our Garden of the Arts in a special “Roots of Love” garden installation. Donors can dedicate garden pavers at www.naplespreschoolofthearts. com/garden-enhancement-project and help fund an experiential gardening education for our children.

The exciting initiative will teach our children how to prepare healthy soil to grow healthy plants to produce healthy food to make healthy people to build a healthy community!

In January, our children enjoyed a dedicated gardening day in honor of the Jewish holiday of Tu B’Shvat, which is compared to the Jewish Arbor Day. Traditionally known as the “birthday of the trees,” Tu B’Shvat is a day that highlights our connections to each other and to nature. In keeping with the theme of the day, the children enjoyed a “Tea Party in the Garden” with delicious fruits and freshly brewed tea.

The value of community is an important theme at our preschool, so we made January “Community Helpers” month. Throughout the month, we explored the careers of the people who enhance our lives, expanding the children’s understanding of the world around them. We welcomed parents and members of our community to visit and share their careers with our students. We are sure that the enriching experience left a lasting impression on our students, opening their eyes to new possibilities.

As the winter months fly by, our preschool team is also busy developing and enhancing our outstanding summer camp as well as next year’s preschool curriculum. Get a taste of what makes Preschool of the Arts so popular at our unique Summer of the Arts experience! Our widely acclaimed summer program for children ages 18 months to 8 years integrates various creative arts and educational themes in a safe, multi-sensory and Jewish-spirited setting. This year, our theme of “National Geographic Kids” will set your child off on a global expedition of excitement and fun!

Summer of the Arts 2022 enrollment is filling up quickly and we are nearing capacity for the 2021-2022 school year. For more information or to register, please call 239-263-2620.