Use the documents below to find information and resources for Food Education and Gardening!
Food Education and Gardening
Farm to ECE Curriculum
Farm to Preschool Curriculum from Northeast Iowa food and Fitness Initiative
o The Farm to Preschool Curriculum from Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative includes a multitude of teacher resources, links to posters and other visuals, cooking and gardening activity ideas, and lesson plans
o For infants, Toddlers, and Twos. This resource provides simple, concrete guidance to enhance existing teaching practices that support health and wellness.
A Guide to Using the Creative Curriculum for Preschool to Support Farm-to-ECE Models
o For Preschool. This resource provides simple, concrete guidance to enhance existing teaching practices that support health and wellness.
Grow It, Try It, Like It! Nutrition Education Kit For Child Care Centers and Homes
o Grow It, Try It, Like It! Fun with Fruits and Vegetables at Family Child Care is designed to help Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) operators provide garden-based nutrition education for children ages 3 through 5 years old in family child care settings.
Grow It, Try It, Like It! Fun with Fruits and Vegetables at Family Child Care
o Grow It, Try It, Like It! Fun with Fruits and Vegetables at Family Child Care is designed to help Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) operators provide garden-based nutrition education for children ages 3 though 5 years old in family child care settings.
5-2-1-0 Activities for Early Care Providers
o The “5-2-1-0 Healthy Choices Count!” campaign supports sites to make policy, systems and environmental shifts to center healthy habits. These activity resources offer ideas for how to do this in early care settings. From the Healthiest State Initiative.
K-12 Curriculum
Growing Minds Farm to School Lesson Plans
o Growing Minds has developed farm to school activities that incorporate state and national curriculum. Visit their website for lesson plans, recipes, books, and other resources for each month of the school year.
Plant It, Grow It, Eat It! Healthy Habits Take Root
o Get tips from the Team Nutrition on how to start a school garden. School gardens can help increase students’ awareness of where foods come from and increase their preferences for fruits and vegetables.
Learning in the Garden, Lessons from Next Step Adventure
o Use and adapt these K-5 lessons to help students develop mapping skills, design and conduct experiments, create graphs, and learn about life cycles. Connected to academic standards, these lessons grow academic skills throughout the whole garden year, from planning, planting, caring for and harvesting in the garden.
Print-and-Go Activities, from Next Step Adventure
o Adaptable for home or school-based learning, these printable activities offer several categories for outdoor and garden-based education.
Pick a better snack Educator lessons
o Pick a better snack brings fruits and vegetables into the classroom for kindergarten through third grade students all over Iowa. Kids learn about kiwi, spinach, zucchini, pears, and more! As part of the program, kids get to see, touch, smell and taste fruits and vegetables.
FoodCorps Lessons to Support Remote Education
o Designed for one FoodCorps service member to lead with up to 25 students (K-5th grade), FoodCorps’ hands-on cooking and gardening lesson can be adapted and used at school or home by any educator.
o Sprout Scouts is a kids club for elementary-aged students that links Common Core and other academic standards to food and health in fun and engaging ways. Sprouts Scouts clubs are perfect for after-school programs, summer camps, or even as a classroom unit.