A Shortened School Year

I had high hopes for Grandma's Garden this year.  I was going to install the irrigation system over the hanging baskets, getting the 5th graders to figure it out with me.  I was going to pull every weed and flatten every divot and smooth every hummock until walking without searching for impediments was possible.  

We were going to grow strawberries and tomatoes and lettuce and carrots.  Radishes of all descriptions, including the giant daikons, would top off our salads.  I hoped to start gourds that would be ready when the next school year began.

Those plans will wait for next year, when we can all be back in the garden together.  This school year ends in 8 days.  We are really behind schedule.

There will be summer school, and the number of registrations has surprised everyone.  Two summers ago there were not enough enrollees to run the program.  This year, our cup runneth over.  With the summer's  STEM focus, my little corner of their world will fit right in.

But what to do about the 5th graders from Virtual Garden Club?  We were planning to do experiments from home, then school reopened, now it's ending. Somehow, our plans never came to fruition.

So, tonight, I'll be searching the interwebs for pots and saucers.  I have seeds and soil and plant markers.  We'll gather together in the garden and put our treasures together all at the same time.  They can take them home and tend to them over the summer, a reminder of their days in elementary school as middle school looms before them.

It's the least Grandma can do.