Early Head Start plants a seed for healthy eating habits

Stuart Hedstrom
Staff Writer

DOVER-FOXCROFT — Children in Penquis Child Development’s Early Head Start have gotten to see how their garden grows and soon will be able to eat what they sow through a vegetable planting activity at the program, which meets in the mornings on Tuesday through Thursday at the Morton Avenue Municipal Building and is free for income-eligible children from 6 weeks old to age 3.

Marilee Page, who along with Cathy Wiehn is the co-coordinator of the Early Head Start program, said meetings with parents are conducted monthly, in addition to regular conferences, with nutrition initiatives among the items discussed. During one session the idea of starting a vegetable garden was brought up. “The parents voted on it, it was a parent who suggested it,” she said, with the decision to start being made last fall.

Page said a parent was then able to secure some grant monies for gardening supplies such as seeds and soil. The parent also went to the University of Maine Cooperative Extension for information on the growing process that could be used for an Early Head Start garden.

“It is really about parents making this garden initiative come together,” she said, as Early Head Start is designed to teach children skills needs to be ready for later schooling while also providing support for the rest of the family.

Page said some of the Early Head Start programs that involve children’s families encourage “male involvement” with a father or other figure taking part, with the gardening activity being such a program. “Moms can come too,” Page said. “We have been reading gardening books and things like that.”

Wiehn said the seeds are planted inside small containers and after the sprouts poke out of the soil the plants are transferred to the larger garden. “We will be cutting them up and cooking them,” she said about the vegetables.

“It’s science and nature and nutrition all wrapped into one,” Page said. “We do a lot with nutrition,” she said, adding as another example that the children also learn about the importance of doctors and dentists.

“In April we started planting the seeds,” Wiehn said, adding the vegetables may be ready for consumption in July. The garden is a wheeled container that can be moved outside during the day and then brought back inside the building at night.

“The kids go out there every day and we water it when needed,” Page said, with the Early Head Start program having four children enrolled at the present time. She said the students have gone outside to see and learn about the progress their crops have made

“We are growing tomatoes primarily,” Wiehn said about the green plants that have grown out of the dark soil in the portable garden. “This we know is tomatoes and this we definitely know is cilantro,” she said, saying a mixture of these seeds as well as basil, bean and parsley were thrown into the mix by the youngsters in the spring.

“A lot kids don’t have the opportunity or space to get involved in gardening,” Page said. She and Wiehn said an objective of the gardening program is to show parents that despite the possible limitations — such as residing in apartments or on rented land — they can still grow their own vegetables. The co-coordinators said seeds can be inexpensive with those that have now grown into the Early Head Start’s plants coming from the dollar store.

Page said information was sent to families on how they can start a window sill garden, and Wiehn mentioned a container as small as a plastic soda bottle can filled with soil and then used to grow a plant. “You don’t have to own a couple of acres of land for vegetables,” Page said.

“It is a home-to-school connection, what we do at school they can do at home too,” Wiehn said. She said Early Head Start families have been given recipes incorporating vegetables, joking that this can be a way for picky eaters to eat their vegetables without the children being aware.

“We just want to remind parents we are here and you don’t need a lot of money to eat healthy,” Page said. “Part of the curriculum is to do nutrition-based activities every day.” She said during a recent session the children searched a sand table for pictures of healthy foods.

After successfully locating the objects, the children enjoyed “fizzy blast-off drinks” which the two said are made from sparkling water and are a healthier and cheaper alternative to soda.

Penquis Child Development Early Head Start, which meets Tuesdays-Thursdays from 8 to 11:30 a.m. year-round currently has openings. The program has eight slots, with the small enrollment size enabling each attendee to receive plenty of attention. For more information, or to apply, please call 973-3567.  

Photos courtesy of Penquis Child Development Early Head Start

SMALL GREEN THUMBS — Children taking part in Penquis Child Development Early Head Start, which meets Tuesday-Thursday mornings at the Morton Avenue Municipal Building in Dover-Foxcroft, water the program’s vegetable garden. The youngsters have learned about growing their own healthy foods, with the nutrition-based lessons also involving their families who have received information on raising vegetables at home.