Growing Minds Day by Day: Third Week of April

…ion and tips for starting a garden in last week’s Day by Day resource round-up. Looking for more garden-related activities? Check out the Growing Minds This Week in the Garden (TWIG) newsletter for the third week of April.    Neighborhood Clean-up: Think globally, Act locally! Cleaning up litter from the streets near our homes helps to keep trash out of our streams, rivers, and even our oceans. It also makes our neighborhoods safer for wildlife an…

Building Positive Experiences with Healthy Food: Farm to Preschool

…th a garden? Gardening with preschoolers not only engages children in hands-on learning, but begins to build positive experiences with healthy food. This is why school gardens are a key component of effective Farm to School programs. Farm to School can include local food included in school meals, farm field trips, school gardens and cooking local food, but the goal is to rebuild connections between children and the food they eat. Proving positive…

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Growing Minds Day by Day: Fourth Week of November

…FP Multicultural Recipe Project. Prefer a vegetarian version? Try this meat-free recipe for Three Sisters Soup from First Nations Development Institute. While it’s not known exactly which vegetables were eaten at the Harvest Feast of 1621 (now known as the First Thanksgiving), the three-day event celebrated the English settlers’ first harvest of flint corn, which they had planted with guidance from the Wampanoag tribe. The feast may have included…

Farm to School Impacts

…lopment of food preferences in children, Birch (1999) determined that multi-component school-based interventions that combined classroom curriculum, parent and food service components showed the greatest promise for fruit and vegetable promotion among children. Farm to School programs can offer this multi-component approach, integrating positive food and farm experiences into curriculum, engaging parents and community partners, and connecting clas…

Growing Minds @ University wins WCU service learning awards

…my own garden. I figured if we can get green growing with kindergartners, I can surely get a garden going myself. Also, I buy more local produce and am more interested in where my food comes from.” “I come from generations of farmers. This program has allowed me to connect to these individuals in a way that I had not before.”  …

Farm to Preschool Toolkit

format and streamlined recipes. The Toolkit is available as a free digital download. To download click in the black space to the right of the Toolkit. The download arrow will then drop down. View the Spanish version here. Webinar: How to Use the Farm to Preschool Toolkit Early care and education professionals can watch this recorded webinar to get an introduction to the four core components of Farm to Preschool, as well as how to use the Growing M…

Growing Minds Day by Day: Third Week of November

…y pin to help weave your yarn (or you can just use your fingers). Find step-by-step instructions for branch weaving here. Once your weaving is finished, you can decorate it with natural materials like leaves or seed pods like the weaving shown here. Don’t have access to a branch? Try easy cardboard loom weaving for kids instead. The materials will be similar, but you’ll use a piece of cardboard instead of a branch for your loom.   Easy Cotton Ball…

Sow True Seeds for School Gardens

…ons. We’re fortunate to have a partnership with Sow True Seed, an Asheville-based company that is able to supply us not only with standard favorites like Watermelon Radishes but also traditional Appalachian varieties like Upland Creasy Greens and Yard Long Red Asparagus Beans! Are you an educator in Western North Carolina? Contact us to find out how you can get free seeds for your school garden. Visit Sow True Seed on the web at www.sowtrueseed.co…

Growing Minds Day by Day: Fourth Week of June

…ds, and more), as well as their Pollinator Journal activity, where you can download and print a kid-friendly pollinator journal. Finally, learn about how butterflies visit puddles to drink water and obtain essential nutrients, then follow their instructions for making a Butterfly Puddle to add to your pollinator garden.  NC State: Butterflies in Your Backyard Visit NC Cooperative Extension’s “Butterflies in Your Backyard” page to learn about commo…

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