School Garden Curriculum

Kaci Rae Christopher is the volunteer Farm and Garden Educator for Oregon's Redband Ranch. She was previously the School Garden Coordinator for the Springwater Environmental Sciences School, the Outdoor Educator for ERA, and worked on education farms, community supported agriculture initiatives, and farm schools. Her passion is fostering a healthy land ethic, personal empowerment, and environmental literacy in children of all ages through outdoor immersion and skill building in order to inspire generations of changemakers. Currently pursuing her MFA at OSU-Cascades, on most days Kaci Rae can be up to her elbows in soil or hiking new trails with her husband and two dogs. She lives in Bend, Oregon.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Where Permaculture and Science MeetKindergarten: An Introduction to GardeningFall: Getting to Know the Garden Winter: Pollination and SeedsSpring: Insects and Garden SpeciesFirst Grade — Grade One: SeedsFall: The Edible Parts of PlantsWinter: Traveling SeedsSpring: Sprouting Seeds ExperimentSecond Grade — Grade Two: Pollinators and CyclesFall: Seasons and Garden ChangesWinter: Beneficial Insects and Birds Spring: Observing PollinatorsThird Grade — Grade Three: Becoming Soil ScientistsFall: The Garden EcosystemWinter: Soil Vitality ExperimentSpring: Fostering Healthy SoilsFourth Grade — Grade Four: VermicompostingFall: Becoming a Worm ExpertWinter: Mini Worm Bin ProjectSpring: Worms Help Grow a Healthier GardenFifth Grade — Grade Five: CompostingFall: Composting BasicsWinter: Compost in a Jar ExperimentSpring: Healthy Soils and Garden PlantsSixth Grade — Grade Six: Rain Gardens Fall: The Way Water Moves Winter: Rain Garden DesignSpring: Building a Rain GardenLeadership and StewardshipSeventh Grade — Grade Seven: Renewable ResourcesFall: Catching and Storing EnergyWinter: Valuing Renewable and Natural Resources Spring: Using Small and Slow SolutionsEighth Grade — Grade Eight: Leadership and StewardshipFall: Energy Cycles and Conservation Winter: Designing SystemsSpring: Supporting BiodiversityEndnotesAppendix A: Next Generation Science StandardsAppendix B: Resources IndexAbout the AuthorAbout New Society Publishers

"The School Garden Curriculum addresses something near and dear to my heart and probably the most critical issue in society today — the need for garden, food and ecology education for school-age children. This book will help transform society with each new generation. Well done."— Zach Loeks, author, The Permaculture Market Garden"Not just for teachers, this hands-on, down in the dirt, fun, imaginative and eminently practical guide should be in the hands of anyone involved with kids and gardening. The author's depth of teaching experience shows in her well-thought-out lessons and projects suitable for each age group. This is a wonderful resource for introducing children to science as they discover ecological principles for themselves along with the rewards of gardening."— Linda Gilkeson, author, Backyard Bounty"Early and regular interaction with nature is critical to healthy childhood development. With half of all people living in urban environments, school gardens offer one of the best opportunities for children to connect with the earth. Kaci Rae Christopher's School Garden Curriculum shows us how to make the most of lessons of ecology and gardening, to provide an intimate experience with nature and skills that will last a lifetime."— Darrell Frey, author, Bioshelter Market Garden, co-author of Food Forest Handbook"Ever been enthusiastic about a school garden project only to come up against typical pitfalls — summer maintenance, how beds are allocated, it's one more chore, etc.? This book to the rescue! Simple, well-thought out solutions to better school yard gardening have arrived. Not only will you build soil, grow edibles and learn how to forage, be prepared for a healthy harvest of community building, rituals, empathy, and gratitude."— Lindsay Coulter, David Suzuki's Queen of Green"A school garden makes the perfect outdoor classroom. As learners step off the edge of chemistry into the new lands of biology, new experiences evoke paradigm shifts and epiphanies. Life begins to write itself! For all the talk of teaching methods, learning styles, and motivational techniques, the best teachers simply point the student toward an edge. No better place to do that than in the garden. The School Garden Curriculum shows you how."— John Wages, Publisher, Permaculture Design magazine"The school gardening movement has long been a laboratory of educational innovation. By fusing permaculture with science, Kaci Rae Christopher takes it one step further in effectively promoting systems thinking and garden ethics. Her teacher-friendly new book offers hundreds of lessons for fall, winter and spring that can be accomplished within a single class at each grade level from K-8. Highly recommended."— Tim Grant, editor emeritus, Green Teacher magazine