It is “Harvest Time” in the Hug Bug Club! The months of August, September, and October bring us fresh crunchy carrots, corn on the cob, new potatoes, green beans, lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers. Also there are so many different kinds of fruit like blueberries, peaches, apples, pears, nectarines and plums – yum, yum! We can eat a rainbow of colourful, healthy foods. Can you name the colours of all the foods that I listed?

“Springtime,” my purple Hug Bug, loves to work in the garden, growing flowers and vegetables. Her favourite vegetable is carrots. Which is your favourite veggie? She also likes purple plums. I wonder why? Which is your favourite fruit? I love orange apricots which I gather from a tree at my summer place on Lake Okanagan in Vernon, British Columbia. My grandson, William, helps me pick up the ripe fruit that has fallen on the ground. We take out the stones and cook some of the fruit to freeze so that we can enjoy eating apricots all through the winter. William, who is now three years old, likes to help me in the garden. Here is a photo of him watering the plants.

Did you know that all of our delicious fruits and veggies started life as a tiny seed? With the help of the sunshine, wind and rain, the seed sends down roots into the earth and sends up a stem and leaves that reach up toward the sun. The flowers grow on the stems and become fruit, like tomatoes, watermelon, squash and pumpkins (for Halloween!) or the tasty fruit on trees like cherries or peaches. We can also eat the stems and leaves of plants, such as celery, broccoli and asparagus, or the roots, such as crunchy carrots, red beets and white parsnips. Potatoes and yams grow as tubers or bumps on the roots. I have lots of songs about plants and gardens that you might have fun singing, such as, “Each of us is a Flower,” “The Garden Song,” “I am a Pizza,” “10 Crunchy Carrots,” “New Potato Polka,” “What Kind of Tree Are You?,” “All the Nations Like Banana” and “Wildflowers.”

My two Music/Resource Books with CD are filled with songs and ideas for Fall and Harvest time. Visit my web site to see the Special Offer for Fall for Musical Treasures and A World of Music. There are also more ideas in the Teacher’s Corner.

I have a new song that I hope to record this fall -“I Have Shoes and I Can Walk.” When we eat fresh fruit and veggies, we have lots of energy and our shoes can take us wherever we want to go. I hope that you walk to school with your family and friends. You can become…

When I go to my school,
I like to walk and I’m no fool,
With my friends, I’m just fine.
Riding the Walking School Bus.
One of our parents comes along,
We whistle and talk or sing a song.
Who needs a car when it’s not too far,
Riding the Walking School Bus.

Visit my Web site to listen to samples of The Walking School Bus (L’Autobus scolaire pédestre) or to purchase downloadable versions of the song in English or French.

Remember, October 4th – 8th is International “Walk to School Week.”
Maybe you can organize a “Walking School Bus” at your school!

To learn more about the Walk to School program in your area:

In B.C. visit www.dashbc.org or www.hastebc.org (Search: Charlotte Diamond)
In Ontario, www.saferoutestoschool.ca
In the USA, www.walktoschool.org
and internationally, www.iwalktoschool.org

Remember to walk or ride your bike safely to school. Have a wonderful fall and enjoy eating a rainbow of veggies and fruits!

P.S. Write to me often! I love to receive your pictures and letters!

To join the Hug Bug Club,
please send your name and address to:

Charlotte Diamond
The Hug Bug Club
5005 Vista View Crescent
Nanaimo, BC V9V 1L6
CANADA

or email fanmail@charlottediamond.com