Garden-to-Table Summer Camp 2026: Growing, Cooking, and Learning Together
Jun 27, 2026 | by Sam Wilder and Kyle Walenga
What happens when children spend a week harvesting vegetables, cooking meals from scratch, caring for a garden, listening to timeless stories, and sharing every meal together? You grow far more than food. This summer marked the fifth year of Mr. Kyle and Mr. Sam's Garden-to-Table Summer Camp, and it was one of our sweetest yet. Throughout the week, our campers arrived each morning eager to roll up their sleeves, get their hands dirty, and discover the many gifts a garden has to offer. Their enthusiasm, kindness, and willingness to help reminded us once again that children naturally want to do meaningful work—they simply need the opportunity. Our days followed a comforting rhythm of Morning Circle, Gardening Work, Snack, Free Play, Cooking, Lunch, Games, Story Time, and Music. Within that rhythm, every day brought new discoveries.
Caring for the Garden
Campers explored the grounds through scavenger hunts and garden bingo while harvesting an abundance of seasonal fruits and vegetables, including apricots, strawberries, blackberries, mulberries, potatoes, garlic, herbs, and much more. They planted new raspberry bushes in the Big Garden, added ferns near the office, built compost piles, and refreshed the garden paths with a new layer of wood chips. Through these simple yet meaningful tasks, the children experienced firsthand that gardens flourish through patience, teamwork, and care.
From Garden to Table
Every harvest became an opportunity to cook together. Using fresh ingredients from the garden, campers practiced safe knife skills, learned about healthy nutrition, and prepared delicious meals for the entire group. Throughout the week we enjoyed veggie tacos, rainbow vegetable pasta, garden mashed potatoes, Garden-on-a-Bagel, vegetable stone soup, and two batches of Mr. Kyle's famous garden fruit popsicles.One of our favorite observations each summer is how willing children become to taste new foods when they have harvested, prepared, and served them themselves. Pride in their work naturally grows into curiosity at the table.
Stories That Feed the Imagination
Each afternoon, we gathered in the beautiful Kindergarten classroom for one of the quietest and most cherished moments of the day. As the silk curtains were drawn and children settled onto cozy sheepskins, we shared food-inspired fairy tales connected to the fruits and vegetables we were harvesting and cooking. Together we journeyed through The Enormous Potato, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Magic Porridge Pot, Momotaro, and Stone Soup. These stories invited the children to see food not only as nourishment for the body, but also as a source of imagination, wonder, and community.
Lesson That Grow Beyond the Garden
While our week was filled with gardening and cooking, the most meaningful lessons reached far beyond the harvest. Children gained a deeper appreciation for where food comes from, the importance of healthy eating, and the responsibility we all share in caring for Mother Earth. Along the way, they practiced cooperation, responsibility, gratitude, and joyful work. A special thank you to our rising 7th grade assistants, Miriam and Bekah, whose kindness, leadership, and gentle care made a lasting impact on our youngest campers. Thank you to all of our families for sharing your children with us. It was a joyful week filled with meaningful work, new friendships, and memories we will cherish.