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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Shawn Sims planted some daisy seeds on Thursday because they&#8217;re his mother&#8217;s favorite flower. With a less-than-honorable motive, classmate Shavel Shannon planted green bean seeds &#8212; because his sisters don&#8217;t like vegetables.</p><p>The 5-year-olds and their classmates at Luzerne County Head Start planted their seeds of choice in small containers, anticipating that they&#8217;ll transfer the plants to garden areas outside the Beekman Street facility in the spring.</p><p>The project is the initiative of &#8220;Operation Let&#8217;s Grow,&#8221; part of Leadership Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s current class.</p><p>Leadership Wilkes-Barre member Kate Vlachos said she was pleasantly surprised at the enthusiasm the children, all between ages 3 and 5, had for the project.</p><p>&#8220;One little girl said she didn&#8217;t like peppers, but she would enjoy seeing them grow anyway,&#8221; said Vlachos, of Forty Fort. &#8220;All the kids were super into it.&#8221; &#8203;</p><p>Lauren Barnes, Head Start community advocate, said facility staffers were excited to partner with Leadership Wilkes-Barre to benefit children and families in the long term.</p><p>Barnes said the project was intended not simply to provide youngsters with the opportunity to place seeds in dirt and watch things grow, but to give them an understanding and appreciation of the environment and nutrition.</p><p>She emphasized the project is part of the Head Start&#8217;s STEM curriculum, presenting principles of science, technology, engineering and mathematics to early learners.</p><p>Aimee Schneider, who has taught at Head Start for over 20 years, said many of her students think that vegetables simply come &#8220;from the supermarket.&#8221;</p><p>Schneider said the project has already helped students realize that vegetables and flowers come from the ground and that it takes a great deal of work to ensure that they grow properly.</p><p>She is looking forward to the children growing cucumbers, which will then be turned into pickles.</p><p>&#8220;I think this is a lesson that will carry through to many generations,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Leadership Wilkes-Barre member Andrew McCabe, of Shavertown, said he was thoroughly enjoying the project.</p><p>McCabe, however, said his enthusiasm was based on his commitment to the community and to children, not on any agricultural talent.</p><p>&#8220;I have a black thumb, but this was a great opportunity to benefit the kids,&#8221; said McCabe, who also participated in Junior Leadership Wilkes-Barre nine years ago as a high school student.</p><p>Leadership Wilkes-Barre will follow up with two more planting sessions before the plants are moved outside.</p><p>&#8220;Today is laying the foundation for our gardening project,&#8221; said Barnes. &#8220;All of our students will participate.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Aaleynie Martinez gets some help watering plants from Andrew McCabe, of Leadership Wilkes-Barre, as fellow classmate Jahmel Featherstone looks on during a lesson focused on planting and growing a garden Thursday at the Luzerne County Head Start in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL021717Gardening1-cmyk-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Aaleynie Martinez gets some help watering plants from Andrew McCabe, of Leadership Wilkes-Barre, as fellow classmate Jahmel Featherstone looks on during a lesson focused on planting and growing a garden Thursday at the Luzerne County Head Start in Wilkes-Barre. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL021717Gardening2-cmyk-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Students Victor Morales and Noah Simon learn how to water their newly planted seeds with help from Bill Gabriel, of Leadership Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL021717Gardening2-cmyk-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Students Victor Morales and Noah Simon learn how to water their newly planted seeds with help from Bill Gabriel, of Leadership Wilkes-Barre. </caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta></subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Geri Gibbons</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach the Times Leader newsroom at 570-829-7242 or on Twitter @TLnews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

‘Operation Let’s Grow’ teaches Head Start kids value of gardening, nutrition