Our youth program at Galego Court has had an exciting summer so far. Check out photos and stories on our Facebook album here!

The Learning Community after school programming

Just had our last day with our after school gardening crew at the Learning Community. We are proud of our gardeners. 


It was tough once the weather made us hold class inside but kept it interesting.
We made macrame plant hangers with simple knots, twine, beads, small pots, and some seeds
made hydroponic planters with some stones, aluminum container, and all sorts of bulbs
painted a garden sign,
made salad, potatoes, and the kids made their own honey mustard dressing which was a big hit
We also showed clips of Microcosmos, you can find the whole movie on YouTube.
It follows the life in a field with a microscopic lens, the first film of its kind.
It only contains music and audio from the field so it is a great piece to turn on at the end of class or during another activity.


More growing ahead in the LC Garden this Spring and Summer! Good times.

Garden Inspired Youth Art!

Drumming in the garden with Robert Fish and Diana Young

We started out with a stretch then played musical beats from around the world. Thank you Diana and Bob! 

Garden Inspired Mosaics

Kids at Galego used tile to mosaic wood shapes. The wood shapes (flowers, hearts, worms, etc.) were originally drawn by the kids and then enlarged and cut onto plywood.

RISD Foundation Students Top-Bar Beehive Design and Build

Rhode Island School of Design Foundation students visited the "Garden of Life" to view the 14 Kenyan Top-Bar Beehives they designed and built. The project was led by architecture professor, Anastasia Congdon.  This is the first stage in our "Pollinate Pawtucket" project, three bee colonies will arrive soon. The hives are on display in the "Garden of Life" currently but will be moved once bees arrive. Each hive is unique. Thank you RISD! Learn more about Top-Bar beehives here.

University of Connecticut Illustration Art Installation

UCONN Illustration students installed their garden art sculptures in the "Garden of Life" led by Professor Cora-Lynn Deibler. Focus was given on outdoor art and using recycled materials. Coke cans, 2 liter bottles, a colander, scrap metal, ceramic pieces, and an old umbrella was used. Great job on the five projects, they look fantastic in the garden!  Thank you UCONN Illustration! To view more awesome recycled art projects visit here. 

Ceramics!

Kids from Galego Court made pinch/coil pots out of air dry clay and decorated them with pebbles, beads, and stamps. Fun day for all!

Earth Day precursor!

In conjunction with Blackstone Valley Community Action Program, New Urban Farmers led classes at Prospect Manor and Galego Court about parts of the plant, local birds you see in the spring, and how to squeeze fresh grapefruit juice! The kids felt seeds and bulbs of all shapes and sizes and had a great time. We then colored local birds, discussed mixing colors, and cut them out to hang from the ceiling in the community room.

Sculpey Fun!

Galego kids made bugs, fruit, vegetables, snakes and much more out 

of a soft clay that will be hardened in the oven. They learned how to roll, flatten, and shape the clay into simple shapes that they then used to form many different creations.

Once spring hits they can place their masterpieces in the Garden of Life !

Bead Works!

Galego Kids strung beads to make necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. Kids chose from small, large, glass, wood, and plastic beads. Everyone had a lot of fun!

Balloon Drums

We made and decorated  drums out of poster tubes, stretched balloons, and rubber bands.

Street Percussion

We had a jam session with percussions outside and had fun in the snow! 

Turnip People!

Students drew turnips and added characteristics to make them into turnip people.

Garden Wood Extra-ordinaries!

Students were asked to draw what came to mind when they thought about our community garden.  What plants grow there? What do you like about it? What animals live there? After preliminary drawings were completed, drawings were enlarged and cut into plywood shapes.  The students then painted the shapes using a variety of painting techniques and materials.

The cut-outs are displayed in our new clothing exchange at Galego Court.

We plan to continue this project. Updates will be posted soon. 

Happy New Year!

We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! For the holidays, New Urban Farmers held a Christmas Chorus at Galego Court.  The kids sang a couple of weeks ago at the holiday party.  Great fun for all!

Mosaic Assemblage!

 "The Garden of Life" was previously a playground that got run down over the years and glass was shattered there.  We are now recycling that glass (that has been dulled by the sand) by making mosaics.  This is our first finished mosaic assemblage named "Running Man." We plan to continue this project by making more mosaic "people" to add to the fence. Students ages 4-15 participated. 

1. Wood was prepared with a protective glue coating and wire was laced between two holes to allow for hanging.  

2. Glass was glued on reclaimed wood using abstract and nature based designs.

2. Grout was mixed and applied. When the grout began to cure after about 30 minutes, students used water and sponges to smooth out the grout.

4. Fully dried, the mosaics were assembled into the "Running Man" you see here.

Blue Yellow Paint Brush-less Day

The goal was to explore color mixing with a limited palette and experiment with materials. Students were given different hues of yellow and blue and many different materials to paint with except paint brushes.  (sponges, Styrofoam, cottonballs, skewers, squirt bottle, sticks)   Students painted first on brown paper and then transferred to light yellow cardboard.  The students were encouraged to experiment with collage by cutting out elements from their first painting. Students created some very textured paintings!