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…

Growing Minds Day by Day: Fourth Week of July

…alth. Their presence in your garden indicates that it’s a healthy, chemical-free place. Your school or family can do its part to protect frogs and toads by not using pesticides, herbicides, or other chemicals on your property.  More tips – Find more tips to help frogs and toads in your yard here.   Discover the Frogs and Toads of NC: Explore the many species of frogs and toads that call North Carolina home by visiting herpsofnc.org. Click on a pho…

Farm to School Funding

…cal food. Some examples of equipment that could be purchased with this mini-grant include refrigerators, freezers, crockpots, pots and pans, cutting boards, and utensils/tools such as measuring cups and child-safe knives. If you need help connecting with a local food source, make sure to complete our Local Food Questionnaire as well. The amount awarded will be based on availability of funding, number of applicants, and the scope of your project. M…

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…

Tips for Gardening with Students

…fication helps a lot. Plant radishes or turnips even if you don’t like them-they come up in three or four days and are ready to harvest in just a few weeks.  Planting some “starts” along with seeds offer students plants to observe before their seeds sprout.  Use the garden to encourage leadership. Try to add responsibility and ownership to projects. (“Quincy is in charge of the wheelbarrow today.”) Connecting with another class or grade level offe…

Downloads

A Farmer’s Life for Me

…One, two, three it’s a farmer’s life for me! Spend a day out in the fields and find out what farmers do! You’ll also find endnotes with fascinating facts about animals and crops. Go to www.barefootbooks.com/farmerslife to access your audio singalong of music by The Flannery Brothers and video animation online. This book is also available in a Spanish edition entitled ¡Vivamos la Granja!  …

Meet Your Farmer: TK Family Farm

…apple orchards in Western North Carolina begin opening to the public for u-pick in mid-August. This Growing Minds publication–The Hayride–can be used by educators, parents, and caregivers to plan fun and educational farm field trips. The resource contains tips for selecting a farm to visit and communicating with farmers, ideas for on-farm activities and classroom curriculum connections, and suggestions for what to bring on the field trip to ensur…

Growing Minds Day by Day: Fifth Week of March

…nd Preschool Mud Activities The Growing Minds website features several soil-themed lesson plans that can be adapted to the home garden or classroom: Soil Exploration, Soil Temperature, and Soil Amendments. These lesson plans are geared for grades K-2, but could be adapted for other ages. Our Soil Jeopardy lesson plan is designed for grades 4-5. You can find a great list of K-12 soil experiments and hands-on activities–including soil painting, soil…

Growing Minds Day by Day: First Week of July

…adult). Click here to view an illustrated version of this recipe, with step-by-step instructions in both English and Spanish.  Keep the summertime fun going by enjoying your cucumber short stacks outside at a teddy bear picnic! Consider making a batch of homemade lemonade for the picnic, adding fresh mint leaves or berries to the lemonade if you have them on hand in the garden or fridge. Finally, have your children grab a blanket and their favorit…

Growing Minds Day by Day: First Week of August

…ir grandparents about gardening.  Take your interview to the next level by downloading the free StoryCorps App on your phone or tablet and recording your conversation using the app (you can find interview and sound quality tips on the StoryCorps website, too). You could also interview someone using a video conferencing app (like Zoom or Google Meet) and record the video. If a camera is not available, you can write out your interview questions in a…

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