Growing Healthy Habits
Growing Healthy Habits provides the framework that transforms the gardening experience into a nutrition education program. Lessons help students develop an appreciation for fresh fruits and vegetables as they learn about the growing process. While the curriculum meets Maryland State Curriculum objectives and corresponds to the Maryland growing season, it can easily be adapted for any region.
The curriculum is made up of 9 units:
What's So Great About Gardening?
Parts of the Plant That We Eat
Feed the Soil...and the Soil Will Feed You
Variety: The Spice of Life!
Plan Your Planting
Seed Magic
Keep It Growing
Healthy Harves
Garden Fitness
Each unit contains back ground information for the teacher, Maryland State Curriculum objectives, 4 lesson plans including healthy recipes and student journal assignments and handouts.
The main objective of this curriculum is to help learners increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables through gardening, nutrition education and tasting activities.
Through our evaluations, we have learned that teachers find that Growing Healthy Habits is effective, easy to adapt and an easy way to introduce many different fruits and vegetables to students, and to increase student interest and engagement in math, science, culture adn language arts activities.
Teachers found the curriculum to be appropriate for students in Kindergarten through 6th grade and teachers of students with special needs found it easy to modify, and the hands-on activities enhanced the learning experience for their students.
Other changes that were observed included healthy behavior changes in students and teachers, students drinking more water, students trying foods that they grew, more healhty alternatives showing up in lunches from home and students bringing more vegetables and fruits as snacks.
This curriculum provides a complete list of materials and ingredients needed for lessons and tasting activities.
Growing Healthy Habits makes it easy to prepare for each lesson, as it gives detailed instructions and materials lists prior to each lesson.