Heigh Ho the Derry-o My Little Farmers

When my girls were invited to join Fresherb's Little Farmers Day, I was quite uncertain if I'll say yes. Soil and worms - I definitely think they wouldn't be happy to meet and most of all touch these. Despite my hesitation, I said yes to the invitation because I love the idea of exposing them outdoors. To set their mind about the whole thing, I excitedly announced to my girls that we are going to the farm soon. To my surprise, they were delighted about my announcement, but then they started talking about cows, chickens and horses. Oh no! They were thinking about the big farm! So I said, the farm that I was talking about is a little bit smaller. They're not going to meet farm animals but they would see different flower, herb, and vegetable plants plus a lot of insects. Their faces were we-don't-want-to-disappoint-mommy faces so they said okay, they're going.

July 22nd was the very first Little Farmer's Day at Fresherb Garden. It is a farming workshop for kids where they get to experience hands-on farming for two hours. I am thrilled to share with you our (Yes, our, because I had my own share of farming and gardening too!) dirty yet fun-filled learning experience at the farm:

Workshop starts at 8:30AM but we arrived at the Fresherb garden a little bit early. They were amazed to see the flowers, the plants and even the butterflies. I let them explore the place. They followed flying butterflies, they smelled the flowers, they were astounded with the different colors and forms of leaves and flowers. I couldn't contain the joy in my heart and they haven't even started the workshop yet. I've predicted that they'll have fun in the workshop.

Mr. Carlo Aguilar, the master of the workshop and the owner of Fresherb Garden gathered the children to set the kids expectations. When teacher Carlo mentioned soil, the children shouted "eeeww" in unison. Then he mentioned worms and we heard even louder eeewws. We, parents, were looking at each other and wondering if bringing our kids into this workshop was really a good idea. But we just laughed at the situation instead.

Carlo lectured the children first of the basics - parts of the plants, how a seed grows into a plant, and the basic needs of a plant. This time, children were starting to be attentive and participative. Thus, making them curious about farming.

Their first activity was to feel the different kinds of soil. At first, the children were skeptical to touch the soil but when one volunteered to touch it, others followed. My girls were also good at following their teacher Carlo's directions. I also reminded them that it was okay to be dirty that day.  

The next activity was mixing the soil. More children were brave to touch the soil this time. But teacher Carlo made sure that all children participated in this activity.

One of the not so brave souls was my little girl Addy. I had to assist her in getting the soil from the pail but she did the mixing all by herself, which made me very proud.  I felt that it wasn't really easy not just for my girls but for all the children to embrace farming. It was something new to all of them.

Another activity was filling those small pots with soil. This time, the children no longer cared about them being dirty. I guessed their getting the hang of farming now. Even us, parents, were helping our children in filling the pots. Finally, no more eeewws.

The eeewws were back when teacher Carlo showed  the worms. After a while, children started to touch and even let the African night crawlers crawl (ANC) on their hands. I have known my girls to be scared of anything crawling and flying inside the house no matter how small these are. That's why I am so happy that my Addy even bonded with her newly found favorite pet. Yes, she even wanted to take it home. On the other hand, it took minutes before I finally encouraged Kiera to touch the ANC and she had done a great job too!

We also experienced to harvest some eggplants, chili and finger peppers, and okras. In here, not only the children had fun but also the parents. Teacher Carlo taught everyone the right way to pick the eggplants and which are the right ones to pick.

The fruit of our harvests altogether.

Of course, the activity wouldn't be complete without the children planting on their own. They all filled their pots with soil then listened to teacher Carlo's instructions on how to plant the seeds.

Kiera was poking the soil to make room for the pechay seeds while Addy and I were starting to put seeds on the soil-filled pot. Everyone was doing the same thing. Then, we watered the plants and covered them with plastic as instructed. 

The gang! Everyone went home with additional fruit of knowledge. Thank you so much teacher Carlo and Fresherb Garden for accommodating us. My girls and I had so much fun.

After three days, the seeds began to sproute. The girls are watering their plants religiously and check them upon waking up in the morning. I can say that Little Farmers Day really made them love farming. In fact, they are encouraging me to buy some pots and seeds so we can plant some more. Unfortunately, we do not have a garden or a backyard but buying pots is a good idea. 

The workshop costs only 200php per child, but the experience has made a big impact to all the attendees. They learned that even them, the little ones, can actually contribute in preserving mother nature. As they say, not all can be learned in the four corners of the classroom, so I encourage moms to let our kids explore and experience farming on their own. Let them put down those screens and get dirty once in a while. Let their hands get busy with the real things that will make them see actual results which they can be proud of. 

Also, mommies who love cooking. You might want to consider buying real herb plants instead of the powdered forms. Fresherb also sells potted herbs for only 75php to 100php per pot. The price is equivalent to one bottle of powdered herb which needs to be refilled but with an herb plant, as long as it is being nourished, we might not need to buy it ever again.

I would also love to share with you another write-up about Little Farmers Day by a co-parent, Ms. Carolyn Gutierrez-Abanggan, whose children also attended the workshop. Here's the link to the article: https://www.facebook.com/notes/carolyn-gutierrez-abanggan-author-speaker/why-farming-is-great-for-your-kids/912560182230522/.

Feeling the need to take your child into this kind of workshop? There's another one on August 26. Reserve a slot for your kids now. Visit and like Fresherb Facebook page for more details. You may also want to follow @carlothefarmer on Instagram. 

Lastly, thank you to Fresherb for allowing me to use some of your photos for my blog. I got so busy during the second part of the workshop and I forgot that I am planning to post about it on my blog. I have to admit I have enjoyed Little Farmers Day as much as my girls did.