This week, my daughter's preschool class piled into a small bus and headed out of Central Tokyo to a nearby suburb to visit a sweet potato farm. Each child, wearing his or her school smock, was accompanied by one parent. We brought our shovels and our lunches and were ready for an adventure.
The children loved digging into the mud, touching the soil, and pulling out the treasures--sweet potatos and diakon. Some kids even tromped through the mud in their barefeet. The experience of visiting a farm, seeing where vegetables come from, and actually touching and feeling a potato garden was fantastic for these consummate "city kids." Also, what I loved most, was bringing home the sweet potatos, cooking them, and having a meal for our family. My daughter was thrilled to eat the actual potato she dug out of the earth. I always say that I know Madeline had a great day when she is dirty from head to toe at the end of it, today was a very good day!
Those of us who live in urban environments, without so much as a square meter of grass to call our own, really appreciate the opportunity to feel fresh earth and see where the food we eat comes from. To actually dig something up, and then eat it for dinner that night makes one appreciate the meal much more than normal. Although this outing was for a group of 2 and 3 year olds, I believe a similar experience would be valuable for any school age group--the parents at the sweet potato dig actually seemed to enjoy the visit as much as (or more than) the kids. It's the interactivity of the outing, actually feeling the earth and discovering your bounty that makes this adventure so valuable.
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