the only constant is change

There's a cold front coming tonight, we were reminded as the staff meeting for our university's speech clinic wrapping up. Make sure the kids are wearing their coats and hats and gloves when they leave!
I was later that morning to remind my team of speech-language pathologists that - with the freeze warning for tonight, our adult gardening group MUST soon get the summer annuals out of their garden beds. Why? There are fall and winter plantings to be done. Keeping in the remnants of summer annuals may be exhausting the soil. The garden environment, rather than reverting to "nature", benefits from thoughtful management that brings healthy growth of what is desired year round. Return on the investment made by our clinic administration, to get us started on this crazy adventure in the first place.

 And oh YEAH - have we had returns! Sidestepping the stragglers at our department meeting, we're off to mark the change of seasons! That is the beauty of having a teaching garden at the speech clinic. You never exhaust your imagination for activities. Children and adults are transformed by digging in the dirt. The increased visibility of speech therapists with the approach to gardening, makes the opportunities for recruiting energetic staff much easier!

There were tomato, basil and marigold plants to remove today. Many other annual flowers and vegetables had had their times, but most clients, students, the faculty and staff, our customers and families alike -they preferred their tomato fix. Our group arrived on time and was ready. Gloves, tools, an apron to protect the clothing, and therapy tools for each group member to help them complete their work. Every client was paired with a student to reinforce concepts and strategies trained in therapy rooms. They were to be communicating  about tomatoes! There were photos and concise written descriptions, for each sequence of the gardening process. For example:

PICKING A TOMATO:

1. Select a tomato that has the best shape and color.. They are firm and shiny.
2. Take the tomato in your fingers, and GENTLY pull away from the vine.
3. The tomato will POP off the stem, when it is ready to be picked.

The written guide is accompanied by a demonstration: I will do it, then watch you do it. Showing someone how to do something seems almost foolproof, but - one never stops learning!

It is so easy to keep data on how easily each client completes the tasks, and what level of cueing each person required to complete each task. What made the task remarkable today was - we got to eat our work in a salad!