"It's been a great experience for them because its hands-on learning," said special-education teacher Helaine Shraga.
"When they get into the classroom, they apply what they learn."
Julia Reyes, 9, sat on the ground near the vegetable garden and dug a hole with a shovel.
She sprinkled parsley seeds into the soil and covered them with dirt.
Shraga took her hand and asked her to touch and feel the texture of the nearby plants.
"They learn by touching, feeling, tasting and using all the senses," Shraga said.
Enilson Sibrian, 8, preferred watering the pink flower bush to planting seeds.
He filled a watering can full of water and poured it over the bushes.
The school garden was built in 2003 after the PTA raised money to build a fence around the area, where the garden is today, said Yvonne Seta, a parent volunteer.
The area where the garden is now was a sand pile , she added.
"The students decide what they want to plant," Seta said. "We plant vegetables and harvest all of it and have a salad."
The vegetables include, lettuce, onion, bell pepper, zucchini and parsley.
For Miles Mallier, 9, tending a garden is about digging, planting and watering.
"I've planted cucumber," Miles said.
"I'm going to plant a flower and I'm going to water the flower."
After they finished gardening for the day, the students went back to class to begin their assignments about their garden.
They drew pictures and wrote about what they had learned in the garden.
"It's preparing them for the future," Shraga said.
