Growing Foods for Growing Minds

Integrating Gardening and Nutrition Education into the Total Curriculum

Abstract

A public school class of 40 children in grades one through four at Westminster, Vermont has been participating in an integrated curriculum which encourages hands-on, inquiry-based learning in a cooperative setting. Although the children are divided into two groups of 20 by age for certain parts of the day, some of the most meaningful discoveries are made when they are engaged in projects involving the full age range of our class. This is usually the case when we are participating in a project connected with our snack garden, which feeds all of us in one way or another for 180 days of the school year. The original purpose of our garden was to improve nutrition and nutritional awareness for this group of students. The outcomes have gone beyond an understanding of good nutrition and the origin of fresh food to enhancing the quality and meaningfulness of their learning.