Kindergarteners get garden growing with ‘Pea Patch Jig’ at NSU E Lab

NATCHITOCHES, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Northwestern State University Elementary Lab School is teaching kindergarten students about seeds, vegetables, and how they grow.

Librarian, 4-H sponsor, and school garden head horticulturalist Lisa Wiggins introduced students to “The Pea Patch Jig,” a book by Thatcher Hurd inspired by an American folk song of the same name.

According to a press release, kindergarten student Ana Kurti was proud to introduce her dad, Dr. Andrej Kurti, professor of violin and viola at NSU, to perform “The Pea Patch Jig” in the school’s outdoor classroom and parade through the pea patch. Students then planted seeds and were treated to nutritious green smoothies that Wiggins prepared on-site.

The release added that the E Lab garden, where students grow vegetables, herbs, and plants that attract butterflies, has been a popular addition to classroom learning. Hands-on experiences in the garden incorporate reading, earth science, health, nutrition, and other topics essential to early education.

“Students see first-hand the life cycle of plants and it helps reinforce many concepts taught in class about the parts of plants and what plants need to grow,” Wiggins said. “It also encourages them to try new and healthy food. If they grow it, they are much more likely to eat or taste it.”

Wiggins said the students loved the music and think the peas will grow so high because of it.