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During the spring of 2005, over 700 students were involved in the program across the region. Participating classrooms received seeds, soil and garden-based nutrition education activities including a teacher’s packet of 3 nutrition lessons provided by the California Children’s 5 a Day—Power Play! Campaign and the Life Lab Science Program. The garden lessons are closely integrated with required curriculum standards to focus students and teachers on the importance of healthy eating. “When students make the connection between food and the food-growing process, they learn math, science, and language arts, as well as healthy eating habits,” explained Erika Perloff, Education Director for Life Lab Science Program. The program supports both new and established programs. The implementation began early in the year and by March, school gardens were cleared and beds readied for planting. Students throughout the Central Coast region recognized National Nutrition Month (March), by digging, planting, observing and learning as vegetables sprouted right in their classrooms. In April and May, students watched as their seeds turned into healthy snacks. The main goal of the program is to instill a desire in students to adopt healthy eating practices. “With only one fifth of children in California eating their recommended 5 daily servings of fruits and vegetables, it’s important to find creative ways to spark kids’ interest in eating well,” said Ildi Carlisle-Cummins, 5 a Day—Power Play! Campaign Coordinator. By participating in gardening programs, teachers across the Central Coast have found that school gardens are a way to accomplish that goal. Cesar Naba, a student-gardener at Bardin Elementary School in Salinas, commented to teachers that he likes to eat fruits and vegetables. He added, “Carrots are the best, though.” In addition to learning where radishes, kale and carrots come from, students learned how to read, write and express themselves through a unique feature of the Plant a Seed for Good Health program – a traveling journal. The journal is a spiral-bound booklet containing questions for the students about their gardens and fruit/vegetable preferences. The journal was passed from one participating classroom to the next with ample space for them draw graphs and pictures and write healthy messages to be shared with other classes. In addition to fine-tuning language arts and math skills through the questions, the journals also help students to understand they are part of a wider community of people concerned about good health. They also provided support to teachers who sometimes face challenges when trying to incorporate garden and nutrition lessons into standards-laden curriculum by connecting them with other teachers who make gardening with kids a priority. Check out Lesson 2 to for details for creating a traveling journal. At the end of the school year, students put the finishing touches on the journal and left for summer vacation. But it won’t be long until fall arrives, bringing cool-season crops like lettuce and chard to remind students how tasty healthy foods can be.
Copyright© 2005 National Gardening Association |
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