Preschoolers and parents learn together through summer gardening and U.C. Extension class

Preschoolers and their parents have been growing fruits and vegetables in Campbell’s Family Learning Center garden this summer and using the harvest to learn about and prepare healthy meals.

“The children love participating in the entire experience—from digging in the dirt and planting the seeds, to watering and maintaining the garden, to harvesting and tasting the vegetables they’ve grown,” said preschool teacher Tahseen Mohiuddin. “Having their parents there makes it even better.

“Instilling good eating habits is easy when you know what to look for,” Mohiuddin said. “Children grow fonder of healthier alternatives when they are involved in the process because they can make links between what they’ve grown and what they see in their meals.”

Mohiuddin uses the Happy Healthy Me-Nutrition Curriculum to teach the children while Nutrition Educator Carmen Simmons, of the University of California Cooperative Extension, educates the parents.