Mini-garden project Week one of the mini-garden project involved Sacha and her fellow pre-schoolers planting sunflower seeds into the outdoor garden bed. Each child in the activity has been assigned tasks on a weekly roster to care for the plants. The children were full of curiosity and questions when they had the special visit from the nursery worker, who brought in examples of seeds at different stages of growth and showed the children how to care for them. They even had sunflower seeds for the children to eat, showing pictures of how to harvest the seeds. Little Catalysts Early Learning Centre has built a reputation for its exemplary inclusive practice and by how much it involves the local community and families in activities in the service. It has a strong philosophy on teaching environmental responsibility and sustainability. It's clearly evident in the extensive outdoor garden area that children can harvest food from and help in the preparation of mealtimes in the service. Educators at Little Catalysts are active each day in making time to connect with families and discuss what has happened during the day and what each individual child has learned or achieved. This week, they have been sharing pictures and stories with the families of the pre-school children involved in the mini-garden project. 

a. From the perspective of Urie Bronfenbrenner, discuss how the mini-garden project and the philosophy and approach of Little Catalysts Early Learning Centre would positively affect learning and learning outcomes. Include in your discussion reference to Bronfenbrenner's beliefs on what influences a child's learning and the importance of relationships between family and educators?

b. Describe how Little Catalysts Early Learning Centre applies, in its relationships with families and its approach, an understanding of Lev Vygotsky's socio-cultural theory and the impacts of this on learning c. Using the Reggio Emilia approach how could the educators at Little Catalysts Early Learning Centre further enhance the learning experience and outcomes of the mini-garden project?