Nurturing Literacy and Community

First grade teacher Kathy Goodlad wanted her Title 1 (at-risk) first graders to develop an appetite for healthy foods, improve their reading and writing skills, and experience being responsible for living things. She also suspected that her pupils for whom English is a second language would develop a better grasp of new words if their hands and senses were actively involved in learning.

The Fresno, CA, school's Mr. McGregor garden became a centerpiece for these goals, and inspired an unintended outcome. "These kids, most of whom are from low-income families themselves, asked, 'Why can't we give some of our garden harvest to poor people?'" says Kathy.

"Many of my students, the majority of whom are Asian or Hispanic, had little knowledge of agriculture or gardening, although we live in a big agricultural area," Kathy explains. The garden project, originally funded by grants, is now sponsored by Home Depot, which supplies aprons, gloves, tools, plants, and staff to help with maintenance. Each classroom -- and even the principal -- in Kathy's K-6 school now adopts a bed or row of vegetables, from carrots to zucchini.

The children's first harvest was so bountiful that they wondered how they might share what they'd grown. "They considered donating it to the zoo to feed animals or creating a garden stand and selling it," explains Kathy. But the students' desire to help others prevailed, and they contacted the local soup kitchen. "Delivering the donation piqued students' curiosity about how it would be used, and prompted some great discussions," she adds. For instance, they decided to deliver carrots whole, rather than cutting off the tops, so soup kitchen visitors could pitch in and feel useful. After donating the excess produce, the class talked about other ways they could help and agreed that from then on, they would always plant a row specifically for the hungry.

One year, an Asian girl brought in seeds and plants from her family's garden --long green beans, squash, greens -- which inspired a stir-fry area in the school garden. The evolving oasis now also sports young fruit trees, aromatic herbs, and a butterfly area.

Language lessons also bore fruit in the garden. "I began to notice non-native English speakers in the garden explaining details and offering tips to other kids," explains Kathy. "And students who were reticent writers filled pages in their garden journals describing their discoveries." At the end of the year, in fact, her class brainstormed all the garden-related words they'd learned -- from aphids to zucchini -- and came up with more than 160 words! "The kids are proud of their work and more apt to eat something they've grown," says Kathy.