Children's Day School - Farm and Garden Program

At CDS we recognize that an intimate relationship with nature is critical for a child's full development. Our large, sunny schoolyard features an organic garden and farm, home to chickens and sheep that give children opportunities to experience first-hand the connections inherent to a healthy ecosystem, as well as to develop a sense of place and season. The CDS farm and garden program has three educational objectives for our students:

1. To cultivate empathy for the natural world by creating opportunities to observe and interact with plants, animals and soil.
2. To practice stewardship for the land and develop a sense of place by engaging in seasonally driven work to maintain the farm and garden.
3. To provide students with a knowledge of sustainable farming and gardening practices and how these issues relate to student’s own lives.

Preschool children spend time in the farm and garden with Analise Heid and Sophie Wolfram, our farm and garden teachers, working on a variety of seasonal projects. Projects have included:

• planting a vegetable garden
• cooking scrambled eggs
• brushing the sheep
• exploring the worm bin

CDS elementary students use the schoolyard as a living laboratory to bring to life a deep understanding of sustainable farming and gardening practices while integrating math, literacy and science into their units of study. For example, while studying compost, second graders might  learn about why making compost is a sustainable practice, chart the temperature of the compost pile, learn about how compost is made, and write descriptions of the various fungi and invertebrates they find in the compost pile.

CDS middle school students participate through a farm and garden selective. Students in the farm and garden selective produce food to market and sell at a farm stand and manage the middle school garden.

The farm and garden  program also gives children the skills they need to be responsible stewards of the environment by engaging them as active caretakers of their community. We accomplish this in multiple ways. For example:

• Every child in kindergarten through fourth grade participates in the morning farm chore program where they care for the sheep and chickens.
• Many classes have specific jobs that contribute to the maintenance of the school farm and garden. For example, kindergarteners collect garden pests from the garden to feed the chickens, first graders rake the barnyard, second graders manage the compost piles, third graders muck the chicken coop, and fourth graders are responsible for mucking the sheep barn.
• Students also participate on our Green Task Force, helping to raise awareness in our community about environmental responsibility.

Family Farmer Program
Our farm and garden program also provides fun opportunities for family participation. Through the Family Farmer Program, each CDS family has the chance to care for the farm animals during weekends and vacations; training is provided.