ThePatch
Weekly sessions in the garden in Kingsville for children in Prep to Year 6, starting in Term 4 2026.
Enrol nowI have had many parents ask me to open up the garden to kids on a regular basis, so I’ve established The Patch, a kids’ garden club by The Corner Garden. It’s a weekly opportunity for kids to relax, regulate and learn in the garden, strengthening their sense of belonging and contribution to our community as we grow a green west together.
Sprouts
Sprouts learn through their senses and simple steps, with one clear job at a time. Across the term they:
- Look, touch, smell and name what is growing
- Follow the steps to sow, plant and water their own patch
- Sort, count and draw what they notice, and share it with the group
- School years
- Prep to Year 2
- Runs for
- 60 minutes
- Group size
- Up to 6 children
- Days
- Monday, Wednesday or Friday after school, or Saturday morning
- Term
- 8 weekly sessions from the week of 19 October 2026
Growers
Growers explain the why behind each job and record what they find, like scientists. Across the term they:
- Read seed packets and rulers and plan their own bed
- Record observations in tables, diagrams and graphs
- Frame a question for the term and test it fairly
- School years
- Years 3 to 6
- Runs for
- 60 minutes
- Group size
- Up to 6 children
- Days
- Monday, Wednesday or Friday after school, or Saturday morning
- Term
- 8 weekly sessions from the week of 19 October 2026
After school sessions would start at 4pm, Saturday mornings 9am, but I welcome parent feedback as this is the first time running The Patch. In the enrolment form, you will be asked which days work for you, so once I receive the enrolments, I will confirm the days and times the sessions will run. I really appreciate any feedback you have, juggling family schedules is no easy feat!
Meet the Patch
Children explore the garden with a magnifying glass, then fill and name their own fabric pot and sow a ring of radish. Each child also sows two sunflower twins, one for The Patch and one to take home.
Planting puzzle and seed sowing
Children solve the layout of their pot with cardboard circles, then plant an advanced cherry tomato and basil grown at The Corner Garden. Lettuce and nasturtium go in from seed, and a hand-folded seed packet goes home.
Worm farm and compost
Children meet the garden worm farm and sort out what worms will and won’t eat. Each child installs a small worm tube in their pot and takes home a bottle of diluted worm wee.
Feeding the soil: eggshells and seed bombs
Children tuck compost and mulch around their plants and start an eggshell calcium brew that fizzes in a jar for two weeks. They also roll seed bombs to dry and take home.
Thinning and transplanting
The radish and lettuce have come up thick, so children thin them and taste the thinnings. The best lettuce goes into an upcycled pot to take home, and the tomato gets its first tie.
The watering routine
Children learn the finger test and lift test so they can tell when their pot needs water. They bottle their eggshell calcium, give the tomato its first feed and make a watering card for home.
Garden detectives
Children compare their pot with their Session 1 drawing and photo, count pollinators and pull their first radishes. The Patch sunflower is measured against its home twin.
Harvest and home
Children harvest from their pot, make a posy for someone at home and look back on how far it has come. The pot goes home with them, along with a summer care card.
Every session has the same shape so children know what is coming next. For Sprouts, each job takes under 20 minutes and ends with something they can see or hold. Growers do more measuring and recording, and finish with five minutes in their journal.
Sprouts
60 minutes- 0–10
- Arrive and settle. Wash hands, walk the garden, finger test your pot, water it if it’s thirsty.
- 10–25
- Job one
- 25–40
- Job two
- 40–55
- Job three (usually the take-home)
- 55–60
- Pack up and share. One thing I did today. Take-home into the bag.
Growers
60 minutes- 0–10
- Arrive and settle. Wash hands, walk the garden, check your pot.
- 10–25
- Job one
- 25–40
- Job two
- 40–50
- Job three (usually the take-home)
- 50–55
- Patch journal: draw, measure, record.
- 55–60
- Pack up and share.
Where
Held in the garden in Kingsville, in Melbourne’s inner west. The address is sent to you when you enrol.
Parents and carers
Parents and carers are welcome to stay, and attend free. If your child will need you with them, let me know on the form so I can plan numbers in the garden.
What to wear
Please dress your child in clothes that can get dirty, and a hat. All materials and tools are provided.
Wet weather
Sessions run outdoors. If a session is rained out, it moves to the spare week at the end of term, the week of 14 December.
Enrolments now open for Term 4.
Groups are limited to six children. Enrol below to secure your child’s place, and I’ll confirm days and times with you.