Ag-Bites are bite-sized ways to bring agriculture into your classroom. These one-page sheets explain how to perform hands-on learning activities with students in various grade levels (K-12).
Composting is the process of creating nutrient-rich soil from decomposing organic matter like grass, leaves, and food scraps. Construct a compost bottle using a clear container, bottle, or jar and observe the organic matter break down into soil rich in nutrients that can be used in a garden. Instructions available in English and Spanish.
Germinate seeds like a pro! The ragdoll germination test involves placing a known number of seeds in a moist paper towel, rolling up the towel and seeds to place inside a plastic bag, and assessing the number of seeds that germinate over the next few days. This is an easy way to demonstrate germination in the classroom and to test and discuss factors that affect germination.
Use these instructions from KidsGardening.org to make seed balls as a fun and inexpensive way to sow native plants and flowers! Seed balls are a small collection of seeds, compost/soil, and clay. They are commonly used to revegetate areas burned by wildfires but can also be used on a smaller scale in home gardens and classrooms.
In this activity students will gather, observe, and dissect flowers before collecting flowers and other plant parts to create pressed plant art. Use this activity to integrate art and science concepts while encouraging students to explore and observe plants found in their everyday surroundings.
From A-Z, the garden is depicted with spare words and striking graphics. This elementary book reinforce the letters of the alphabet and gardening simultaneously.
Little Critter learns that planting his own garden is a lot of fun and a lot of work. But the result—a green, green garden—is something he can cherish and enjoy.
A Seed is Sleepy offers a beautiful and informative look at the intricate, complex, and often surprising world of seeds by introducing a fascinating array of seed and plant facts.
From the early cultivation of tomatoes by the Aztecs to the introduction of the tomato to Europe by the Spanish Conquistadors and modern culture today, this book provides an accurate and comprehensive look at tomatoes. The author has even depicted and described backyard, greenhouse, and large-scale tomato production. The story of processing the tomato into a variety of products is enhanced by including the rise of the Campbell Soup Company. The book ends with a useful glossary.
Chef Alice Waters has always been friends with food. The search for good food led Alice Waters to France, and then back to Berkeley, California, where she started Chez Panisse restaurant and the Edible Schoolyard. For Alice, a delicious meal does not start in the kitchen, but in the fields with good soil and caring farmers.
How do plants survive when they can't run away from danger? Plants can live in diverse places such as under water, in deserts, cold climates, high elevations or even on other plants. They must contend with storms, fire, poor soils, and hungry animals and insects. Fortunately plants can grow from spores, seeds, or vegetatively and often get a helping hand from people. Plants are cultivated to provide fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, and fibers such as cotton as well as for wood, paper, and many other products. The book concludes by noting a few of the habitats plants help create such as forests, prairies, and marshes as the comical plant characters conclude that they do indeed have amazing powers. Several related activities are listed such as a plant power scavenger hunt, a writing prompt: My Plant Power, and a kitchen scrap garden.
Gram and Joe love to spend time together taking care of the vegetable patch, but it takes a lot of patience. There's digging time, planting time, weeding time, watering time, even thinking time. Meanwhile, the seasons change, and while Gram does things her way, Joe does things his way. But come harvest, each will find wondrous surprises, thanks to the benevolence of the good brown earth.
You might think a farm means fields, tractors, and a barnyard full of animals. But you can plant a farm anywhere you like! A box or a bucket, a boot or a pan—almost anything can be turned into a home for green, growing things. Windows, balconies, and front steps all make wonderful spots to start. Who knows what plants you may choose to grow and who will come to see your new garden? After all, anywhere can be a farm—all it takes is one small seed and someone to plant it.
Welcome to the fascinating world of your own backyard, where more than 125 bugs, worms, and small critters play out the drama of life in miniature. Seven life-size, backyard environments from the soil to the vegetable garden to the air above are vividly depicted in enticingly lush photographic scenes. Scenes are followed by informational spreads which identify all the animals pictured and relate intriguing facts about survival in each environment. The book includes natural science projects, essential safety information, and an inviting 'visual index' for easy reference.
Poppy is determined to win a blue ribbon for her cucumbers at the county fair. But Vincent Van Goat is always butting in—as goats do. He gobbles up her cucumbers before the big day! Poppy must come up with a new plan. Luckily, she knows a lot about fast-growing vegetables—and Vincent's eating habits. If Poppy works hard enough, she might be able to present something at the fair after all. But will it be enough to win a blue ribbon?
From the whippoorwill's call on the first day of spring through the first snowfall, Edna and members of her family gather fruits, berries, and vegetables from the fields, garden and orchard on their Virginia farm and turn them into wonderful meals. Includes facts about the life of Edna Lewis, a descendant of slaves who grew up to be a famous chef.
When Wilma decides her garden needs a new beginning, she gathers all her supplies and sixty-two dozen balsam seedlings to start a Christmas tree farm. Follow Wilma and Parker, her five-year-old neighbor, year after year as they nurture their trees, keeping careful count of how many they plant, how many perish, and how many grow to become fine, full Christmas trees. A great holiday read-aloud for the month of December.
Right in the middle of Marcy's city block is a vacant lot, littered and forlorn. Sometimes just looking at it makes Marcy feel sad. Then one spring, Marcy has a wonderful idea: instead of a useless lot, why not a green and growing space for everyone to enjoy? With her warm, hopeful text and inviting illustrations, DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan shows how a whole neighborhood blossoms when people join together and get involved.
From apple cores to zinnia heads, readers will discover the best ingredients for a successful compost pile. How do you start a compost pile? What's safe to include? This book provides the answers.
Dead leaves, food scraps, and grass clippings for lunch? Small animals, fungi, and bacteria called decomposers turn trash into a tasty compost treat. Learn more about compost and how you can use it in your garden or yard.
All the insects in the garden, from ten little black ants down to one tiny flea, get involved in moving a fallen cucumber. Includes a recipe for cucumber soup and factual information about the insects in the story.
Once upon a time, Old MacDonald didn't have a farm. He just had a yard—a yard he didn't want to mow. But under the direction of the wise Little Red Hen, Mac learns to look at the environment in a very different way, and whole new worlds start to bloom with the help of some mud, garbage, horse poop, and worms!
An alphabetical tour of the world of fruit and vegetables from apricot and artichoke to yam and zucchini.
Farm
This beautifully illustrated and descriptive book gives students insight to farm life through the seasons. Farmers plant, harvest, and store crops using a variety of farm machinery. The children living on the farm help plant a vegetable garden and feed the cows and chickens. Some of the harsh realities of farm life are honestly depicted--weather challenges, hard work, and a rooster that disappears (fox?). The story's farm animals and children will capture the attention of students as they explore life on a farm.
Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table
Will Allen is no ordinary farmer. A former basketball star, he's as tall as a truck, and he can hold a cabbage—or a basketball—in one hand. But what is most special about Farmer Will is that he can see what others can't see. When he looked at an abandoned city lot in Milwaukee, he saw a huge table, big enough to feed the whole world. No space? No problem. Poor soil? There's a solution. Need help? Found it. Farmer Will is a genius in solving problems. Jacqueline Briggs Martin tells the inspiring story of an innovator, educator, and community leader.
First Garden
Learn about the history and present use of the White House lawn and gardens with this interesting and thorough nonfiction work. This book also presents factual information on gardening as well as important nutrition guidelines for healthy eating.
First Peas to the Table
A fun work of fiction in which a girl competes in a classroom garden competition to see who can get the 'first peas to the table.' Based on the contest that Thomas Jefferson held with his friends and neighbors every year, this book seamlessly integrates school gardens, history, botany, and seasonal weather themes into one fun-to-read book. Teachers may even consider modeling a classroom science project after the one featured in this book.
Flower Garden
Filled with excitement, a city girl and her father pick out a wonderful assortment of flowers, carry them home, and, sitting on newspaper, lovingly transplant them to a window box as a birthday surprise for Mom.
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
Go on a tour of eco-friendly farms around the globe! From urban gardens to farms under the sea, discover the many different sustainable ways people have been growing food for centuries, and new innovations that are battling the effects of climate change on farming. Rhyming text and insert boxes with definitions for new vocabulary words make the topic accessible to young learners. End matter includes detailed information about each country's farming practice, sustainable farming, and more.
Grandma Lena's Big Ol' Turnip
Grandma Lena takes good care of the turnips she plants in her garden. One turnip grows so big that Grandma can't pull it out of the ground! Even when Grandpa, Uncle Izzy, and the dog help Grandma yank and tug, the big ol' turnip doesn't budge.
Grandpa's Garden
This beautifully told story follows Billy from early spring to late summer as he helps his grandpa on his vegetable patch. They dig the hard ground, sow rows of seeds, and keep them watered and safe from slugs. When harvest time arrives, they can pick all the vegetables and fruit they have grown. Children will be drawn in by the poetry of the language and the warm illustrations, while also catching the excitement of watching things grow!
Green Bean! Green Bean!
A girl plants the seed of a green bean and watches it grow and mature through the seasons, even providing a nook in which to read a book. Includes supplementary information about the life cycle of plants, pertinent vocabulary, and activities.
Growing Vegetable Soup
"Dad says we are going to grow vegetable soup." So begins Lois Ehlert’s bright, bold picture book about vegetable gardening for the very young. The necessary tools are pictured and labeled, as are the seeds (green bean, pea, corn, zucchini squash, and carrot). Then the real gardening happens... planting, weeding, harvesting, washing, chopping, and cooking! In the end? "It was the best soup ever." Ehlert’s simple, colorful cut-paper-style illustrations are child-friendly, as is the big black type. A recipe for vegetable soup tops it all off!
Gwendolyn's Pet Garden
Gwendolyn longs for a pet. What kind? Any kind! How many legs? Two, four, ten—she's not picky! But her parents have other ideas, and instead they give her...a box of dirt. "It smells of swamp," Gwendolyn says—but her parents say it smells of possibilities. And once Gwendolyn gets savvy about seeds and soil, sun, and shade, she finds they are right. The dirt starts performing some amazing tricks, and soon she has a whole pet garden of her very own—it might not have "any legs at all, but it was alive, and Gwendolyn could tallk to it, care for it, and watch it grow." Gwendolyn's enthusiasm and pride are sure to inspire gardeners and inspiring gardeners alike.
Harlem Grown: How One Big Idea Transformed a Neighborhood
Harlem Grown tells the inspiring story of how one man made a big difference in a neighborhood. After seeing how restless they were and their lack of healthy food options, Tony Hillery invited students from an underfunded school to turn a vacant lot into a beautiful and functional farm. By getting their hands dirty, these kids turned an abandoned space into something beautiful and useful while learning about healthy, sustainable eating and collaboration. Five years later, the kids and their parents, with the support of the Harlem Grown staff, grow thousands of pounds of fruits and vegetables a year. All of it is given to the kids and their families.
Harvesting Friends, Cosechando Amigos
Harvesting Friends, Cosechando Amigos is a story about a garden that grows more than its garden vegetables; it grows friendships! Come meet young Lupe and her new friend Antonio as they meet in an unexpected way and grow their friendship to include their neighbors and friends of all ages.
How Groundhog's Garden Grew
Little Groundhog, in trouble for stealing from his friends' gardens, is taught by Squirrel to grow his very own. From seed-gathering to planting, harvesting, and eating home-grown fruits and vegetables, children join Little Groundhog in learning about the gardening process. At the end, Little Groundhog invites his animal friends to a Thanksgiving harvest feast.
How a Seed Grows
This book is perfect for classrooms exploring seeds and experimenting with germination for the first time. The book shows a simple method of germinating bean seeds that is easy to follow along with in the classroom. The pictures are beautiful while at the same time presenting important and accurate scientific information.
How to Grow a Monster
Last year, Gabe's mom grew way too many zucchinis. This year, Gabe and his sister have a secret plan to take control of the garden. They have to stop the zucchini madness! Tying into the popular Makers Movement, Makers Make It Work is a series of fun easy-to-read stories that focus on problem-solving and hands-on action. This charming story explores the Makers theme of Gardening and includes explanatory sidebars and a gardening-related activity for young makers to try themselves.
How to Say Hello to a Worm: A First Guide to Outside
The beautiful simplicity of a garden is depicted through digital woodcut illustrations and engaging nonfiction text presented as a series of sweet questions and gentle replies. Less of a traditional how-to and more of a how-to-appreciate, this soothingly sparse text paints an inviting and accessible picture of what a garden offers. And with an all-child cast, the absence of an adult presence empowers readers to view the garden and its creatures through their own eyes, driven by curiosity and wonder.
I Am Farmer: Growing an Environmental Movement in Cameroon
When Tantoh Nforba was a child, his fellow students mocked him for his interest in gardening. Today he's an environmental hero, bringing clean water and bountiful gardens to the central African nation of Cameroon. Authors Miranda Paul and Baptiste Paul share Farmer Tantoh's inspiring story.
I Love Strawberries!
Through Jolie's comical scrapbook-style journal entries, readers will learn how she convinces "old people" (her parents) to let her grow her own strawberries. Growing strawberries is a lot of work and responsibility, but Jolie is ready with the help of her faithful rabbit Munchy! Together they find out just how delicious, rewarding, and sometimes complicated it can be to grow your own food.
In the Garden with Dr. Carver
Sally is a young girl living in rural Alabama in the early 1900s, a time when people were struggling to grow food in soil that had been depleted by years of cotton production. One day, Dr. George Washington Carver shows up to help. He teaches them how to restore the soil nutrients. He even prepares a delicious lunch made of plants, including "chicken" made from peanuts. Susan Grigsby's warm story shines new light on an African American scientist who was ahead of his time.
In the Garden: Who's Been Here
Christina and Jeremy have been sent to the garden to gather vegetables for dinner. But they quickly realize that they are not the first visitors to the garden today. There's a slimy trail on a leaf in the cucumber patch, and some corn kernels have been pecked off the cob. Not only that, someone has been snacking on the lettuce leaves! Christina and Jeremy follow the clues to discover which birds, animals, and insects have been in their garden. Keep your eyes open and join Christina and Jeremy on a scientific journey in their own backyard!
It's Our Garden: From Seeds to Harvest in a School Garden
Want to grow what you eat and eat what your grow? Visit this lively, flourishing school-and-community garden and be inspired to cultivate your own. Part celebration, part simple how-to, this close-up look at a vibrant garden and its enthusiastic gardeners is blooming with photos that will have readers ready to roll up their sleeves and dig in.
Jack's Garden
Come to the garden that Jack planted. You will see seeds and seedlings, buds and leaves. You will meet birds and bugs and butterflies. And best of all, you will watch the garden bloom! And maybe you will plant a garden yourself!
Jayden's Impossible Garden
Amidst all the buildings, people, and traffic in his neighborhood, Jayden sees nature everywhere: the squirrels scrounging, the cardinals calling, and the dandelions growing. But Mama doesn't believe there's nature in the city. So Jayden sets out to help Mama see what he sees. With the help of his friend Mr. Curtis, Jayden plants the seeds of a community garden and brings together his neighbors—and Mama—to show them the magic of nature in the middle of the city.
Jo MacDonald Had a Garden
Old MacDonald had a...garden? Yes! Sing along with young Jo MacDonald as she grows healthy food for people and wild creatures. E-I-E-I-O! Find out how butterflies, bumblebees, and birds help a garden to thrive – and how you can help them too. And keep an eye on one mysterious plant. What will it become? Youngsters learn about garden ecosystems and stewardship through this playful adaptation of Old MacDonald Had a Farm.
Josias, Hold the Book
Every morning Josias, a Haitian boy, is hard at work in the family's garden under the hot Haitian sun. His friend Chrislove asks, "When will you join us and hold the book?" With his garden failing, Josias has no time to learn how to read and write. There may not be enough food for his family. Soon, Josias realizes a book might hold the solution to his problem.
Jump Into Science: Dirt
A star-nosed mole shows off all the different kinds of dirt in his garden, helps us to understand how dirt is formed and what's in it, and points out many of the incredible creatures who live in the dirt. Young readers will learn fascinating scientific information about the different soil layers, or horizons, and find out how the soil that plants grow in differs from the soil that building foundations sit in.
Katie's Cabbage
Katie's Cabbage is the inspirational true story of how Katie Stagliano, a third grader from Summerville, South Carolina, grew a forty-pound cabbage in her backyard and donated it to help feed 275 people at a local soup kitchen. In her own words, Katie shares the story of the little cabbage seedling and the big ideas of generosity and service that motivated her to turn this experience into Katie's Krops, a national youth movement aimed at ending hunger one vegetable garden at a time. Katie's Cabbage reminds us of how small things can grow and thrive when nurtured with tender loving and care and how one person, with the support of family, friends and community, can help make a powerful difference in the lives of so many.
Kids' Container Gardening
Gardening can be done inside or outside, all year long, if you use a container. You don't have to just use pots, either. You can garden in bowls, drinking glasses, aquariums--even an old hat! Grow a hanging basket of veggies. Make 'people' out of pots. Create your own water garden--with fish, even. Many are great gifts to give your family on holidays and birthdays.
Las calabacitas de Zora (Spanish Edition)
The first zucchini of a summer garden is always exciting, but what happens when the plants just keep growing...and growing...and growing? Zora soon finds herself with more zucchini than her family can bake, saute, or barbecue. Fortunately, the ever-resourceful girl comes up with the perfect plan—a garden swap!
Las espinacas de Sylvia (Spanish Edition)
A picky eater discovers the joy of growing food and the pleasure of tasting something new. Sylvia Spivens always says no to spinach. But one day Sylvia's teacher giver her a packet of spinach seeds to plant for the school garden. Overcoming her initial reluctance and giving the seeds a little love and patience, Sylvia discovers the joy of growing food and the pleasure of tasting something new.
Lily's Garden
Lilys grandparents move all the way across the country, but stay in touch with Lily by sending her plants and produce from their new home and through her garden. Each spread deals with a new month and garden challenge for Lily. Her grandparents advice helps her cope with the realistic challenges presented by managing a successful garden. This book is also a good exploration of seasonal changes.
Logan's Greenhouse
Logan is organizing a pet playdate at his greenhouse for all of his friends, and his treats won't be the same without his carrots. He's searched and searched, but his greenhouse is filled with plenty of plants and Logan needs our help to identify them. What do we know about carrots? They're long, orange, and have bushy leaves at the top—and, wait a moment, is that a carrot? No, that's a turnip. Where, oh, where could those carrots be? Can you help Logan find them in time for his playdate?
Maxine and the Greatest Garden Ever
After sketching and plotting and planting, Maxine and Leo know they've made The Greatest Garden Ever! But they're not the only ones who think so. Soon, all sorts of animals make their way in, munching on carrots and knocking over pots. When Leo and Maxine can't agree on a way to deter these unwelcome critters, it looks like there's more on the line than saving their garden—they just might need to save their friendship too.
Miguel's Community Garden
Miguel is throwing a party at his community garden for all of his friends, and he needs help searching for sunflowers to complete the celebration. What do we know about sunflowers? They're tall with petals and leaves—and, hold on, is that a sunflower? No, that's an artichoke. Where, oh, where could those sunflowers be? Can you help Miguel find them in time for his party?
Mrs. Spitzer's Garden
Mrs. Spitzer is a wise teacher who knows many things. She knows about gardens. She knows about children. She knows how similar they are, and both will flourish if tended lovingly.
Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!
Tippy, tippy, tippy, Pat! That's the sound three hungry bunnies make when the sun goes down and the moon comes up and Mr. McGreely's garden smells yum, yum, yummy. While he's dreaming of his mouth-watering carrots, the bunnies are diving over fences and swimming trenches to get the veggies first! Hammer, hammer, hammer, Saw! That's the sound Mr. McGreely makes when the sun comes up and the moon goes down and he sees what those twitch-whiskers have done....Nibbled leaves! Empty stalks! Mr. McGreely will build something bigger and better, sure to keep even pesky puff-tails away.
My School Yard Garden
This colorful book takes students on a ramble through a school yard garden—past the seeding beds, along the compost bin, and over to the bird house and bird bath. Along the way, children learn what insects, animals, and plants need to thrive and discover the fun of observing and recording it all. My Schoolyard Garden proves you can learn a lot from a garden, no matter where it grows.
Ode to an Onion
A poetic, beautifully illustrated picture book inspired by Ode to the Onion by Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (1904-1973). Pablo has a lunch date with his friend Matilde, who shows the moody poet her garden. Where Pablo sees conflict and sadness, Matilde sees love and hope. The story is a simple ode to a vegetable that is humble and luminous, dark and light, gloomy and glad, full of grief and full of joy—just like life.
Oliver's Fruit Salad
Oliver is off to stay with Grandpa, who grows his own vegetables. But Oliver doesn't eat vegetables—only chips. How will Grandpa persuade him into a week of healthy eating?
Oliver's Vegetables
On a visit to his grandparents' house, Oliver wants to eat only French fries. Grandpa tells him that he may look in the garden for potatoes, but that he must eat what he finds, whatever it may be. On the first evening, Oliver pulls up carrots and discovers that he likes them. On successive days he discovers spinach, rhubarb, cabbage, beets, and peas. A fun book about eating from the garden.
Our School Garden!
New city. New school. Michael is feeling all alone—until he discovers the school garden! There's so many ways to learn, and so much to do. Taste a leaf? Mmm, nice and tangy hot. Dig for bugs? "Roly-poly!" he yells. But the garden is much more than activities outdoors: making school garden stone soup, writing Found Poems and solving garden riddles, getting involved in community projects such as Harvest Day, food bank donations, and spring plant sales. Each season creates a new way to learn, explore, and make new friends.
Pie in the Sky
Do pies grow on trees? Join a father and child as they watch over their backyard cherry tree—and all the colorful living things surrounding it—throughout the seasons. At the end of the summer, they harvest the cherries together and make a delicious pie for the whole family to enjoy.
Pizza Day
On a sunny, summer day, a young boy and his father assemble the ingredients for a homemade pizza. From gathering fresh garden herbs to rolling out the dough for a crust to spreading on sauce and cheese, this picture book leads young chefs step-by-step through the process of making a favorite meal.
Plants Feed Me
Plants Feed Me is an early elementary, non-fiction picture book about the plant foods we eat. This book describes which parts of plants are edible in simple accessible language using botanically realistic illustrations. Basic botanical science concepts of seed, sprout, flower, fruit, and plant structure are introduced with words and pictures.
Pumpkin Circle: The Story of a Garden
Pumpkin Circle provides a bug's eye view and a bird's high view of seeds sprouting, flowers blooming, bees buzzing, pumpkins growing and, finally, going back to earth. Told in verse and through dramatic photography as an orange gloved-gardener plants, tends, and harvests a backyard pumpkin patch.
Pumpkins
From late summer to Thanksgiving, pumpkins are everywhere, a symbol of fall and a reminder of the holidays to come. In this book, Ken Robbins portrays the pumpkin from seed, to sprout, to flower, to fully fledged fruit, and back again. Instructions are given to (safely) carve a jack-o’-lantern.
Rah, Rah, Radishes!: A Vegetable Chant
Know any kids that don't like veggies? Here's a book that's sure to change their hungry minds. Rah, Rah, Radishes! celebrates fresh vegetables, nature's bright colors, and the joy of healthy eating.
Rooftop Garden
Set to a foot-tappin' original tune, this rhythmic, rhyming story shows a group of city friends work diligently together to grow herbs and vegetables in a rooftop garden, concluding with a summer harvest and feast that celebrates the gardeners' commitment.
Sadie's Seed Adventures: Learning About Seeds
Sadie and Gardener Marv set out to clear weeds from a garden plot. While working, they go on a magical adventure to learn all about seeds. From hitching a ride with a cocklebur to flying through the sky with a milkweed seed, join Sadie as she figures out how seeds disperse.
Seeds Go, Seeds Grow!
Does a towering sunflower fit inside a tiny seed? Where do seeds come from? What makes them grow? Simple text and close-up photographs make this book a great way to introduce young students to the amazing science of seeds.
Sophie's Squash
On a trip to the farmers' market with her parents, Sophie chooses a squash, but instead of letting her mom cook it, she names it Bernice. From then on, Sophie brings Bernice everywhere, despite her parents' gentle warnings that Bernice will begin to rot. As winter nears, Sophie does start to notice changes.... What's a girl to do when the squash she loves is in trouble?
Spring is for Strawberries
When a farm family brings their spring crops to a city farmers market, the farmer's daughter befriends the daughter of a neighborhood family doing their weekly shopping. Over the course of a year, the girls explore the bounty of each season. Sweet spring strawberries and crisp, fresh greens make way for corn on the cob, peppers, and a rainbow of tomatoes. Fall brings pumpkin patches and the crunch of apples. The friends part at the final winter market, already looking forward to the sweet red strawberries that will unite them again next spring.
Sylvia's Spinach
A picky eater discovers the joy of growing food and the pleasure of tasting something new. Sylvia Spivens always says no to spinach. But one day Sylvia's teacher gives her a packet of spinach seeds to plant for the school garden. Overcoming her initial reluctance and giving the seeds a little love and patience, Sylvia discovers the joy of growing food and the pleasure of tasting something new.
Thank a Farmer
Bread, milk, wool, fruits, and vegetables: things that fill our day to day lives. But where, and who, do they come from? Across wheat fields and city rooftop gardens, mushroom beds and maple forests, trace food and clothing back to the people who harvested and created them. Thank a Farmer gently emphasizes the importance of agriculture and reminds readers to give thanks to farmworkers around the world.
The Big Soap-rise (Farm Friends)
Teacher's Day is Monday! At first Poppy and her best friends, Ollie and Cassie, are excited. They love their teacher, Ms. Green. But soon they run into a problem. They don't have a present for her! Maybe they can make something on the farm. But what? Can Poppy and her friends come up with a gift in time?
The Carrot Seed
When a little boy plants a carrot seed, everyone tells him it won't grow. But when you are very young, there are some things that you just know, and the little boy knows that one day a carrot will come up. So he waters his seed and pulls the weeds and he waits... This beautiful simple classic teaches the patience and technique of planting a seed and helping it grow. This story was first published in 1945 and never out of print.
The Curious Garden
While out exploring one day, a little boy named Liam discovers a struggling garden and decides to take care of it. As time passes, the garden spreads throughout the dark, gray city, transforming it into a lush, green world.
The Empty Pot
When Ping admits that he is the only child in China unable to grow a flower from the seeds distributed by the Emperor, he is rewarded for his honesty. This simple story with its clear moral is illustrated with beautiful paintings. The story shows how Ping carefully plants his seed in a flowerpot with rich soil and waters it daily, but to his surprise it doesn't grow. The emperor later reveals that the seeds he'd provided had been cooked and could not grow. This book works well as an engagement approach to lessons on seeds for younger students.
The Extraordinary Gardener
Joe is a boy just like any other, but with a bigger imagination. Joe lives in an ordinary apartment building in a rather ordinary city. His world is rather gray. But he spends his time imagining a wonderful, colorful world filled with exotic plants and unusual animals. One day, Joe decides to plant a seed on his balcony. He waits and waits, but nothing happens! Joe gives up and returns to his daily life, but when he least expects it, he sees that the seed has taken root and turned into the most beautiful tree.
The Giant Carrot
A TALL tale about the power of teamwork. When sweet Little Isabelle's family plants a carrot seed one day, tall Papa Joe, wide Mama Bess, and strong Brother Abel all do their part. But when Little Isabelle wants to help too, Brother Abel just laughs. "What can you do," he asks. "I'll sing and dance to the carrot to make it grow," she says. "And come summer, we'll have little cups of sweet carrot puddin." Sure enough, that carrot takes a fancy to Little Isabelle's singing and dancing and grows to an amazing height, proving that great things can be accomplished when everyone works together. Based on an old Russian folktale, and complete with a scrumptious recipe for carrot puddin', this wonderfully humorous story shows the strength of teamwork and the power of a touch of imagination.
The Good Garden
Maria's family are poor Honduran farmers, growing barely enough to eat. Then a new teacher comes to town and shows Maria sustainable farming practices that yield good crops. An inspiring story, based on actual events, that shows us how farms and hopes are transformed as good gardens begin to grow.
The Peach Pit Parade
When Polly's father goes overseas to fight in World War I, her whole world changes. Though the war is in Europe, its effects are felt on American soil. There are food, fuel, and other supply shortages everywhere. Even something as simple and enjoyable as a family Sunday car ride isn't possible anymore. Everyone must do their part to help the war effort. Victory gardens are planted and scrap metal is collected. "It's the biggest event in our history. And it involves every single adult, every single boy, and every single girl," says Polly's teacher. As Polly struggles to make sense of the war, she wonders how she can contribute. When the government puts out a notice requesting peach pits to be used in gas mask filters, Polly knows how she can help.
The Prized Pumpkin
Tori and Jade are best friends until a friendly competition to grow the most prized pumpkin nearly tears their friendship apart! Come along as they create plans, work with an agronomist and beekeeper, learn from their mistakes and successes all in an effort to grow weird, warty, and ginormous pumpkins. The summer of the prized pumpkin competition will be one Tori and Jade will never forget!
The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver
When George Washington Carver was just a young child, he had a secret: a garden of his own. Here, he rolled dirt between his fingers to check if plants needed more rain or sun. He protected roots through harsh winters, so plants could be reborn in the spring. He trimmed flowers, spread soil, studied life cycles. And it was in this very place that George's love of nature sprouted into something so much more—his future.
The Story of Seeds
This nonfiction chapter book follows seeds from Mendel's garden to our plate. Discover how something as small as a seed can have a world-wide impact. From Iraq to India to an impenetrable seed vault in a Norwegian mountainside, this book speaks to the current ways we think about our food and how it is grown. Readers will discover just how important seeds are to the functioning of our global economy--and how much power we as a world-wide community have to keep seeds around, because once a seed disappears, it's gone forever. With both text and color photos, this book touches on subjects such as seed genetics, the development of new seed varieties, heirloom seeds, and GMO seeds. It also introduces readers to seed scientists such as Gregor Mendel, Luther Burbank, and Nikolai Vavilov.
The Summer My Father Was Ten
That was the summer the boy lost a baseball under a tomato plant in Mr. Bellavista's garden. And someone tossed a tomato back instead of a baseball. A lively battle took place, which seemes like great fun at the time, but in the end Mr. Bellavista's garden had been destroyed. In a touching story of one boy's efforts to make amends, we see the rebuilding of a garden and the forming of a relationship across generations.
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Follow the tale of Peter Rabbit in Mr. McGregor's garden. This book was named the second best-selling children's book of all time by Publishers Weekly.
The Ugly Vegetables
A Chinese-American girl wishes for a garden of bright flowers instead of one full of bumpy, ugly vegetables. The neighbors' gardens look so much prettier and so much more inviting to the young gardener than the garden of "black-purple-green vines, fuzzy wrinkled leaves, prickly stems, and a few little yellow flowers" that she and her mother grow. Nevertheless, mother assures her that "these are better than flowers." Come harvest time, everyone agrees as those ugly Chinese vegetables become the tastiest, most aromatic soup they have ever known. As the neighborhood comes together to share flowers and ugly vegetable soup, the young gardener learns that regardless of appearances, everything has its own beauty and purpose.
The Vegetable Alphabet Book
A wonderful blend of facts and humor make learning about vegetable gardening fun and easy for children. The wonderful, accurate illustrations guide children through a variety of vegetables and terms from A to Z relating to vegetable gardening.
The Wheat Doll
Mary Ann lives in the rugged territory of Utah, doing daily chores such as tending the vegetable garden and braiding rags into rugs. Her best friend is her beloved homemade wheat-filled doll, Betty. One day, a severe storm forces Mary Ann's family into their cabin before she can retrieve her doll from the garden. When the wind and rain finally subside, she is heartbroken to find that Betty is gone. When winter turns to spring, Mary Ann makes a surprising discovery, some wheat growing in the shape of her doll! She carefully tends to the wheat through the summer and eventually makes a new doll. An afterword by the author reveals the story of the real-life Mary Ann and her doll, the inspiration for The Wheat Doll.
This Year's Garden
Follow the seasons of the year as reflected in the growth, life, and harvest of the garden of a large rural family.
This is the Sunflower
First there is a sunflower. Seasons pass...and soon there is a patch of sunflowers. Budding young gardeners will discover that what makes this happen is not magic—but is most definitely magical.
Thomas Jefferson Grows a Nation
Thomas Jefferson was more than a president and patriot. He was also a planter and gardener who loved to watch things grow—everything from plants and crops to even his brand-new nation. As minister to France, Jefferson promoted all things American, sharing corn and pecans with his Parisian neighbors. As secretary of state, he encouraged his fellow farmers to grow olives, rice, and maple trees. In this meticulously researched picture book for older readers, author Peggy Thomas uncovers Jefferson’s passion for agriculture and his country. And Stacy Innerst’s incredibly original illustrations offer the right balance of reverence and whimsy. Back matter includes an author’s note on Jefferson’s legacy today; timeline, bibliography; place to visit (Monticello); and source notes.
Tomatoes for Neela
Neela loves cooking with her amma and writing down the recipes in her notebook. It makes her feel closer to her paati who lives far away in India. On Saturdays, Neela and Amma go to the green market and today they are buying tomatoes to make Paati's famous sauce. But first, Neela needs to learn about all the different kinds of tomatoes they can pick from. And as Neela and Amma cook together, they find a way for Paati to share in both the love and the flavors of the day.
Tops & Bottoms
The story of a lazy bear and a conniving hare as they learn about plants that have food on the "top" and plants that have food on the "bottom." This elementary level book is an entertaining story to teach children about the parts of plants that some of their food comes from.
Two Old Potatoes and Me
One day at her dad's house, a young girl finds two old potatoes in the cupboard. "Gross." But before she can throw them away, her dad suggests they try to grow new potatoes from the old ones, which have sprouted eyes. Told from May to September, the potato-growing season, the story includes all the basic steps for growing potatoes while subtly dealing with the parents' recent divorce. Just like the new potatoes that emerge from ugly old potatoes, this dad and daughter move on and make a new life together in the face of unavoidable and unpleasant change.
Uncle John's City Garden
Visiting the city from her home in the suburbs, an African American girl sees how a few packets of seeds, some helping hands, and hard work transform an empty lot in a housing project into a magical place where vegetables grow and family gathers. It's the magic of nature in the heart of the city! Bernette Ford's autobiographical story is a loving glimpse at a girl, her siblings, and her uncle, and their shared passion for farming. L'il Sissy's fascination with measurement, comparison, and estimation introduces children to STEM concepts. And the progress of Uncle John's garden introduces readers to the life cycle of plants.
Under Your Feet: Soil, Sand and Everything Underground
Under Your Feet delves beneath the Earth's surface and explores the diverse wonders hidden there. Encounter creatures of the deep and marvel at the mind-boggling size of the humongous fungus—the biggest organism in the world. Learn how one handful of ordinary soil contains more organisms than there are people on Earth, and carry out experiments using dirt from your own back garden.
Unearthing Garden Mysteries: Experiments for Kids
Kids will learn all about the fascinating world of plants, while using the scientific method, performing more than 20 classroom-tested projects.
Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt
Up in the garden, the world is full of green—leaves and sprouts, growing vegetables, ripening fruit. But down in the dirt there is a busy world of earthworms digging, snakes hunting, skunks burrowing, and all the other animals that make a garden their home. Discover the wonders that lie hidden between stalks, under the shade of leaves...and down in the dirt.
Up, Down, and Around
From seeds dropping into soil to corn bursting from its stalks, from children chasing butterflies to ants burrowing underground, everything in this vibrant picture book pulses with life—in all directions! Sprightly illustrations set the mood for a rhythmic text that follows nature's course to a feast of backyard bounty.
Vegetable Garden
In this colorful picture book even very young students can follow along with a family as they plant, tend, and harvest a vegetable garden. The sun shines brightly, summer rain falls, and vegetables grow and ripen. For Pre-K through 1st grade this book makes a nice introduction to gardening and related activities or lessons.
We Are the Gardeners
The Gaines family (from HGTV's Fixer Upper) chronicles the adventures of starting their own family garden. From their failed endeavors, obstacles to overcome (bunnies that eat everything), and all of the knowledge they gain along the way, the Gaines family shares how they learned to grow a happy, successful garden.
Weslandia
Wesley suffers rejection from classmates until he puts his school lessons to use and founds his own civilization around a staple crop that blows in on the wind. He turns over a plot of earth, and plants begin to grow. They soon tower above him and bear a curious-looking fruit. As Wesley experiments, he finds that the plant will provide food, clothing, shelter, and even recreation. Wesley's innovations make a perfect tie-in for teaching about goods and services in the community and how agriculture creates jobs and influences development. His whimsical garden is also sure to pique students curiosity about growing plants, making this a nice introduction to any plant-related lesson.
What's in the Garden?
Good food doesn't begin on a store shelf with a box. It comes from a garden bursting with life, color, smells, sunshine, moisture, birds, and bees! Healthy food becomes much more interesting when children know where it comes from. So what's in a garden? Children will find a variety of fruits and vegetables and a tasty, kid-friendly recipe for each one to start a lifetime of good eating. A "Food for Thought" section explains facts about each fruit and vegetable, and a "How Does Your Garden Grow?" section explains facts about gardening and the parts of plants.
When Grandma Gives You a Lemon Tree
When grandma gives you a lemon tree, definitely don't make a face! Care for the tree, and you might be surprised at how new things, and new ideas, bloom.
Zora's Zucchini
The first zucchini of a summer garden is always exciting, but what happens when the plants just keep growing...and growing...and growing? Zora soon finds herself with more zucchini than her family can bake, saute, or barbecue. Fortunately, the ever-resourceful girl comes up with the perfect plan—a garden swap!
Booklet/Reader
Jr. Sprout - Gardening
From seed to plate, this booklet provides an activity to examine the natural resources needed to grow vegetables and flowers, their life cycle, along with plant parts and their functions. The booklet covers science, math, and English standards in the form of engaging questions, counting and measurement activities, and drawings.
Jr. Sprout - Healthy Eating
This creative activity booklet engages students to create their own food faces while using healthy fruits and vegetables grown in a vegetable garden. It also discusses challenges that people encounter while selecting "bad foods" that contain oils, sugars, and fats versus "good foods."
Under Your Feet: Exploring Soil Science
Written for first and second grade, this activity reader introduces soil, plant nutrients, and their role in producing food. The digital booklet contains an experiential learning activity, a letter from a farmer, practice with categorizing food, and discussions about where food comes from. This
student reader is free and available by request from the Nutrients for Life Foundation.
Aeroponic Garden Kit
Aeroponics' is a plant cultivation technique where plant roots are suspended in the air and misted with a nutrient and water solution. The
Aeroponic Garden Kit provides everything except a 5-gallon bucket for students to create their own aeroponic garden.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Garden Planner
This handy bulletin board planner will help you keep your garden on track all year long. The complete kit contains one full-size bulletin board, 17 crop strips to attach to the bulletin board, 17 corresponding crop cards for planning and classroom activities, and full instructions about how to use the bulletin board.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Gardening in a Box
This kit is designed to support various forms of homeschool, virtual learning, and online classes by providing ready-to-use supplies to facilitate hands-on learning and discovery. The kit contains materials for one student to complete a variety of activities found in the following lessons:
Soil Texture and Water Percolation (Activity 1);
Desktop Greenhouses (Activity 1);
Seeds, Miraculous Seeds (Activities 1 & 3);
Flower Power (Activity 2);
Plant Tops and Bottoms (Activity 2).
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Soil Painting
This kit includes five Utah soils that have been finely ground and sifted for use as paint pigments. Each soil is labeled with the name of the Utah county from which it was collected, the soil type and order, and the color of the soil classified by hue, value, and chroma. Use this kit with the
Color in the Garden lesson plan, which provides instructions for painting with soil-based pigments.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.Test Tube Hydroponics Kit
Investigate the importance of nutrients for plant growth and discover how plants grow without soil. Use this kit to grow and observe plants in a test tube hydroponic system. Kit includes rock wool, seed-starter trays, soybean seeds, plant tags, test tubes, and pipettes for 35 students. The
Test Tube Hydroponics Kit complements the lesson
Test Tube Hydroponics.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com. Three Sisters Seed Packet
Native Americans relied heavily on corn, squash, and beans, the "three sisters," for their survival. This packet contains organic, heirloom seeds ready to plant in the garden to demonstrate early Native American farming techniques.
Order these seeds online from agclassroomstore.com.From the Field to the Farmers Market
Travel with nine-year-old Mason as he shows what it's like to be a part of a farm family and bring produce to the Farmers Market! Mason and his family are part of the Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA), and they have been selling at the farmers market for over 20 years. See how their produce is grown and sold at the farmers market.
Preserving Heirloom Crops with Wozupi Farms
See and hear how groups such as the Wozupi Tribal Garden are working to preserve indigenous and heirloom crops. The crop varieties are preserved for taste, texture, and cultural relevance. These heirloom plants come from seeds that have been passed down for generations in a particular region or area. They are hand-selected by gardeners for a special trait.
True Food TV's Home Gardening Video Series
True Food TV's
Home Gardening video series provides useful gardening tips. The instructional videos include information about how to start seeds, what to grow when, container growing for small spaces, and more.
Who Grew My Soup Song
The song "Who Grew My Soup?" was co-written by Story Laurie and a group of students from Delhi Elementary School in Delhi, NY. Inspired by the picture book of the same title, the song celebrates the school garden and Farm-to-School efforts underway at Delhi Elementary and an ever-growing number of schools across the nation.
Teacher Reference
Backyard Composting
This book provides an easy, step-by-step guide to successful composting. Learn how easy it is to start composting, maintain an active, healthy compost, and use the compost you produce.
Botany on Your Plate: Investigating Plants We Eat
This investigative science curriculum introduces the world of plants to elementary school students through foods we eat. Watch children's understanding of our world grow as they partake in hands-on activities that explore edible roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds through observation, dissection, journaling, discussion of findings, and, of course, tasting! This book can be used in educators' instruction to support standards in nutrition, math, language arts, and social studies. Every lesson includes plant snacks that spark curiosity, interesting questions, and social dialogue to fuel the learning process.
Bottle Biology
Learn how to explore science and the environment using soda bottles and other recyclable materials. Model a rain forest and grow different plants, create a spider habitat, observe the life cycle of a slime mold, explore an ecosystem or make Korean kimchee. Pursue these and other scientific investigations with over 20 bottle constructions. Each chapter contains background information, activities and teaching tips. This is a great book for those interested in exploring gardening in the classroom before committing to something more expensive.
Build Your Own GrowLite
This grow light is easy and affordable to build, allowing teachers to garden in their classroom year round or start plants early for outdoor transplanting. The detailed instructions in this PDF will take you step by step through the process of building this light and includes guidelines for using it in your classroom.
Dig In: Hands-On Soil Investigations
Give students the dirt on soil with a practical book that brings new meaning to the term "hands-on." Using these 12 activities and two original stories as guides, kids will soon be up to their elbows in the study of soil formation, habitats and land use, animals that depend on soil, plants that grow in soil, soil science, and soil conservation. Each teacher-tested lesson plan offers helpful background, assessment methods, and suggestions for further exploration.
Edible Gardening: Growing Your Own Vegetables, Fruits, and More
This gardening guide provides fun and creative ideas for growing vegetables, fruits, and more. It lists of everything you need and easy, step-by-step instructions accompany each project. Grow a pepper plant in an upside-down planter or plant a spaghetti garden. Teachers will be inspired to create edible class gardens with their students.
Encyclopedia of Gardening Techniques
The definitive guide to the best gardening techniques from pruning and propagation and planting to harvesting by the American Horticultural Society. This step-by-step guide contains a vast amount of expert information clearly demonstrating the tried-and-tested techniques honed by the world's leading garden authority. The book covers every aspect of gardening from pruning to sowing, watering to feeding, and propagating to planting. Covering all plants including trees, flowers, shrubs, climbers, lawns, vegetables, fruit and herb, it shows how to create water features and patios, and add lighting. It also includes organic techniques, recycling, and how to treat pests and diseases.
Farm to Table & Beyond
This curriculum unit is designed to teach science through study of the food system. It investigates two questions—what is the system that gets food from farm to table, and how does this system affect the environment? Students will learn about our complex and highly technological global food system and how the parts of this system interact and influence each other. Lesson plans include a number of hands-on investigations, helpful background information, practical teaching tips, and tools for assessment.
Garden Genetics: Teaching With Edible Plants
Tired of teaching genetic concepts with the same old pink petunias and Mendel’s peas? With Garden Genetics, you can present core content in ways that are fun for students and fresh for you. This two-part set—a teacher edition and companion student edition—is adaptable to biology students at all levels, including AP. It uses a series of activities and inquiry-based experiments with familiar foods to teach genetics while helping students make connections to ecology, evolution, and plant biology.
Greening School Grounds: Creating Habitats for Learning
Drawing on the expertise of over 100 North American educators, this book represents some of the finest thinking about how best to design and to maximize the learning in revitalized schoolyards. In this anthology from Green Teacher magazine, readers will find step-by-step instructions for numerous projects, from tree nurseries to school composting along with ideas for enhancing learning by addressing the diverse needs of students. Among more than a dozen schoolyard options presented, the guide includes detailed articles on rooftop gardens, multicultural gardens, far-north gardens, desert gardens, butterfly gardens, ponds and prairie restorations. For project planners, there are practical tips on minimizing vandalism, maximizing participation and raising funds. And for teachers, there are dozens of outdoor classroom activities and curriculum links.
GrowLab: A Complete Guide to Gardening in the Classroom
This manual was developed by the National Gardening Association to lead teachers through the basics of successful indoor gardening. Step-by-step instructions will guide you through setting up an indoor garden, planning and planting, choosing vegetables, herbs, and flowers to grow indoors, maintaining a healthy growing environment, tackling pests and other problems, and conducting special gardening projects.
GrowLab: Classroom Activities for Indoor Gardens and Grow Lights
This curriculum uses fun, illustrated activities to explore life cycles, examine plant diversity, and investigate the interdependence between plants and humans. Whether you're growing plants in a greenhouse, under grow lights or on a windowsill, this comprehensive book provides you with all the information you need to use plants as a teaching tool in your classroom to engage young minds. Grades K-8. Meets National Science Standards.
Health and Nutrition from the Garden
This guide from the Junior Master Gardener series is packed with basic gardening information that includes growing techniques, food safety, healthy eating tips, and nutritious snack food preparation. This book is a great tool for educators who use garden programs to teach students about health, nutrition, food safety, and wise decision-making skills. Grades 3-5.
How to Teach Nutrition to Kids
Teaching nutrition to children early and often is the key to developing healthy eating habits. The fourth edition of How to Teach Nutrition to Kids includes over 200 cross-curricular activities featuring the MyPlate food guide, children's books, gardening, recipes, food art, label reading, fitness and more.
In The Three Sisters Garden
In this Common Roots Guidebook, Sister Corn, Sister Squash, and Sister Bean introduce children to gardening in two distinct year-long adventures that explore the ancient wisdoms of the land. Each is a unique journey through the four seasons, rich with earth-friendly gardening methods, history, hands-on activities, stories, and provocative ideas. The lessons incorporate social studies, literature, and science. Plants can be grown in the garden or classroom to supplement this unit. An easy resource to utilize when teaching early American traditions.
Junior Master Gardener Handbook
The Junior Master Gardener (JMG) Program is an innovative youth gardening project. This JMG Handbook is designed for children in grades 3-5. Each of the eight exciting chapters contains fun activities and interesting facts to help children experience the joy of making things grow. At the end of each chapter are suggested Leadership/Community Service Projects. These projects help Junior Master Gardeners share with their family, friends and community all that they have learned.
Junior Master Gardener Literature in the Garden
The Junior Master Gardener Literature in the Garden curriculum engages children through garden- and ecology-themed children's books. (Books include Plantzilla; Miss Rumphius; Brother Eagle, Sister Sky; The Gardener; Tops & Bottoms; and Weslandia.) This curriculum contains dozens of hands-on activities for youth in grades 3-5. Learning is inspired through outdoor activities, creative expression and open exploration.
Junior Master Gardener Teacher & Leader Guide
Ever suck a bug to study insects or make mud pies to evaluate soil texture? The 2016 revised JMG Teacher & Leader Guide provides elementary teachers with the tools to teach the world of gardening with eight chapters of novel, hands-on and proven lessons. The curriculum also helps develops life skills, includes career exploration and provides opportunities for students to culminate the JMG experience with service-learning projects. As students complete areas of study, they can earn different recognition certifications including designation as Certified Junior Master Gardeners.
Learn, Grow, Eat, and Go!
Created by teachers, this multifaceted garden, nutrition, and physical activities curriculum is evidence-based and academically rich. Through a linear set of hands-on, proven lessons, your students will better understand plants and how plants provide for people’s needs. The 10-week (2 lessons/week) unit of study will step your class through process of establishing a thriving garden that is easy to create and maintain.
Math in the Garden
This engaging curriculum uses a mathematical lens to take children on an education-filled exploration of the garden. Dozens of hands-on activities hone math skills and promote inquiry, language arts, and nutrition. All were developed to support mathematics and science standards and were extensively trial-tested by educators and youth leaders nationwide.
Meadowscaping Makes it Better Activity Guide
With a bit of knowledge and creative thinking, meadowscaping allows us to transform lawns, playgrounds, empty lots, unused paved spaces, and patios into havens for plants and animals. This guide provides information and inspiration for creating meadow plantings anywhere—even in containers—and features six fun, hands-on projects to delight and inform your young gardeners.
Meadowscaping with Kids
With a bit of knowledge and creative thinking, meadowscaping allows us to transform lawns, playgrounds, empty lots, unused paved spaces, and patios into havens for plants and animals. This guide for caregivers and educators lifts up the benefits of meadows, meadowscaping, and ways to incorporate kids in meadowscaping. The guide also includes key tips for the success of your meadowscape.
Native American Gardening
This book provides stories, projects, and recipes that can easily be adapted for use in the classroom. Native American Gardening brings the magical world of stories together with the nurturing experience of gardening. Native stories lay the groundwork for understanding, while hands-on activities show readers how to continue the work of generations of Native farmers.
Programming Sun and Rain
On the cramped urban campus of Boston Latin School, students grow an acre’s worth of vegetables in an old shipping container that’s been transformed into a computer-controlled hydroponic farm. Using a wall-mounted keyboard or a mobile app, the student farmers can monitor their crops, tweak the climate, make it rain and schedule sunrise. Use this article to illustrate an example of hydroponics, the use of technology in agriculture, and/or urban farming.
School Gardens: A Guide for Gardening and Plant Science
This free guide can serve as a tool for teachers who are implementing a school garden program. There are 31 activities that can support and supplement hands-on experience in the school garden. Each activity is aligned to education standards. The guide was compiled for Minnesota, but can be adapted to other areas.
Steps to a Bountiful Kids' Garden
This how-to guide by the National Gardening Association covers all you need to know to launch a school or kids' gardening program, from rallying support and site development to making curriculum connections. A must-have resource!
The Growing Classroom
This teacher's manual provides a road map to successful school gardening and curriculum integration, including hands-on strategies for planning a garden laboratory, facilitating investigative lessons on ecology and nutrition, and involving the community in learning activities.
The Ultimate Guide to Gardening: Grow Your Own Indoor, Vegetable, Fairy, and Other Great Gardens
Full of how-to projects for any level of gardener, this book includes step-by-step instructions with accompanying full-color photographs. Whether you’re planting flowers outdoors, or indoor vegetables, you’ll find a range of unique gardens you can grow yourself at home or in a classroom. Tips and techniques are included, as well as variations to make each project your own.
Website
Kid's Gardening Website
The Kid's Gardening website is full of ideas for implementing a school garden. You will find instruction for container gardening, class activities, growing houseplants, etc.
SOW Seeds of Wonder
In Project S.O.W., youth work together to investigate how to grow food, explore their relationship with the land and food system, and practice leadership in their communities. Youth discover the power of food gardening to provide their families and communities with fresh and affordable food, and experience firsthand the resilience, confidence, and connection that this time-honored practice brings. Resources can be paired with school gardening curriculum for ages 13-19.
School Garden Center
This web page offers practical information about gardening with children and provides engaging lesson plans and activities that integrate gardening themes into core curriculum. School gardens provide an opportunity to build understanding about the natural world through active investigation and inquiry. Gardens inspire students to use their senses, exercise their imagination, build communication skills, think critically, problem solve, and explore their questions, while providing a meaningful context for multidisciplinary exploration.
Successful Container Gardens
Use this website to find instructions and tips for making a container garden successful in your classroom.
