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The Newsletter of Winter 2011 
Workshops & Conferences 
Maple Sugaring Workshop 
Tuesday, February 22, 9:00 - 3:00 
Warren Farm and Sugarhouse 
North Brookfield, MA $30 
Annual Winter Conference 
Saturday, March 12, 8:30 - 3:30 
Paul R. Baird Middle School 
Ludlow, MA $50 
Summer Graduate Course 
8 Workshops on Massachusetts Farms 
Starting: Tuesday, June 28, 2011 
Ending: Wednesday, August 16, 2011 
Farms across the State 
Details on page 2. 
Feature 
Topic: 
Gardening with 
Young Children 
Mission: Massachusetts Agriculture 
in the Classroom is a non-profit 501 
(c)(3) educational organization with 
the mission to foster an awareness 
and learning in all areas related to 
the food and agriculture industries 
and the economic and social 
importance of agriculture to the 
state, nation and the world. 
Volunteers Help Us Grow 
Massachusetts Agriculture in 
the Classroom is growing and 
you can help us grow. In 2011, we 
are expanding our educational 
programs to include outreach for 
parents and young children at 
fairs, festivals, farmers markets 
and other educational venues. 
Volunteers worked with MAC Board members to take 
fun agricultural activities to the Big E and other fairs. 
We invite you to join us as a volunteer. 
You will be supporting MAC while 
learning more about agriculture. Two 
separate training sessions will be held 
in 2011. The first is scheduled for the 
April School Vacation on April 19 & 20 
in Marlborough; the second will take 
place in July. Each provides ten hours 
of training over two days, 9 a.m. to 2 
p.m., with lunch included. The training 
sessions are interchangeable to provide 
for maximum flexibility, should you 
be able to attend only one April date. 
Once training is completed, you’ll 
be given the opportunity to represent 
MAC at public events, working with 
at least one other volunteer or board 
member at any time. 
grant from the Massachusetts Society 
for Promoting Agriculture. We are 
extremely grateful to the Society for 
this support that will enhance and 
expand outreach in an important way. 
As we move forward with this new 
program, we welcome your input. If 
you, or someone you know, would 
make a terrific volunteer for MAC, 
please let us know. The training is sure 
to be both educational and fun. 
Scholarships Now Available! 
We are pleased to report that during 
the 2011 Calendar Year, a number 
of full and partial Registration 
Scholarships are available to new 
and urban educators for all of MAC’s 
popular education programs. 
These Scholarships are sponsored 
by a $2,860 grant from the Farm 
Credit East AgEnhancement 
Program. We are truly grateful to 
Farm Credit East for this important 
support of Massachusetts’ teachers 
and MAC’s education programs. For 
more information visit our website. 
As part of this initiative MAC is 
pleased to announce the initiation 
of a new Volunteer Program. 
We are currently developing a 
volunteer manual, presentation 
materials and a training course 
to support this new endeavor. All 
volunteers will receive a copy of the 
manual, power point presentation and 
ten hours of training about agriculture 
in Massachusetts, MAC and lessons 
for engaging young children in 
agricultural activities. 
This new volunteer initiative and three 
new agricultural kits that will help 
volunteers take fun activities for kids to 
fairs and festivals was supported by a
2010 Mini Grants 
The MAC Mini-Grant program 
awarded $3,142 in 2010 to support 
these seven worthy agricultural 
education projects. Grants of up to 
$1,500 are awarded three times a year. 
The deadlines for proposal submission 
are the first of April, September 
and November. We encourage any 
Massachusetts educators to submit a 
proposals to enhance their educational 
program. More information and 
mini-grant guidelines are available 
on-line at www.aginclassroom.org 
or e-mail us to request a brochure at 
massaginclassroom@earthlink.net. 
April 2010 Mini-Grants 
“From Garden to Plate” 
Marblehead High School $365 
“Egg to Chicken” 
Barry School, Chicopee $300 
“Science, the Visual Arts and 
Vermicomposting Collide 
Hubbardston Elementary School $280 
“NES Courtyard Garden” 
Northbridge Elementary School $145 
“Hatching Chicks at West Elementary” 
West Elementary School, Southbridge $300 
April Funding Total $1,390 
September 2010 Mini-Grants 
“Vermicomposting in the Classroom for a 
Three Sisters Garden in the Schoolyard” 
Kenny Elementary Sch., Dorchester $752 
September Funding Total $752 
November 2010 Mini-Grants 
“YouthSeed: Seed Starting & Nursery Care” 
Youth Build Lowell $1,000 
November Funding Total $1,000 
Total 2010 
Mini-Grant Awards $3,142 
President’s Message 
2010 brought a lot of changes 
for Massachusetts Agriculture in 
the Classroom, and I am pleased 
to report that this year of growth 
and long-range planning has 
served us well. Our programs 
are better than ever, reaching 
ever increasing numbers of 
educators, while our finances are 
gaining strength. We thank all the 
teacher participants, workshop 
presenters, farm hosts, volunteers 
and donors who have made this 
year a success. It is the teachers 
Come see what agriculture has to offer, while you learn 
about farming during our Summer Graduate Course. 
We are especially grateful this year to 
several organization and foundations 
that sponsored our educational efforts 
during the year. 2010 began with a 
$1,000 grant from Farm Credit East 
AgEnhancement Program to support 
printing our winter newsletter. This 
foundation awarded us a $2,800 grant 
in 2011 to initiate a new Scholarship 
program. The Whole Foods Markets 
in the North Atlantic Region 
sponsored our Fall Greening the 
School Conference for Educators and 
Big Y Foods, Inc. donated $1,000 to 
sponsor our 2011 Winter Conference. 
Last spring, MAC was awarded a 
Marketing Grant from the Mass. 
Dept. of Agricultural Resources. We 
developed fun agricultural activities 
for children that were previewed at 
agricultural fairs last fall and then 
posted on our website. The addition of 
these new activities led us to an update 
for our whole website, which should 
be in effect by mid-February. We hope 
you visit soon to see the new look! 
Building on this fairs initiative MAC 
applied for and received a grant from 
the Western Massachusetts Trustees 
of the Eastern States Exposition to 
support our efforts at the Big E. Then 
this fall, MAC was awarded a $9,000 
grant from the Massachusetts Society 
for Promoting Agriculture to help us 
develop tools and training for a new 
volunteer program that will expand 
our outreach to even more fairs and 
public events. Thank you to each of 
you for this impressive support of our 
educational programs. 
Summer Graduate Course 
Plan to join us for our popular Summer 
Graduate Course for Educators, now 
in it’s 6th year. MAC will collaborate 
with Fitchburg State College to 
offer this three-credit graduate course, 
titled “Growing Agriculture in the 
Classroom.” Using Massachusetts 
farms as the classrooms, teachers 
are immersed in agricultural-literacy 
training through fun, hands-on study and 
investigation of agriculture education 
resources. It helps enhance curriculum 
and meets many MCAS requirements. 
The course will meet on Tuesdays, 
June 28 and August 16 at the Brigham 
Hill Community Farm in North 
Grafton from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Each 
registrant must attend both sessions 
and also participate in six additional 
workshops during the summer, 
selected from approximately twelve 
workshops on a variety of topics on 
farm locations across the state. 
Participants will keep a journal of 
their agricultural journey and develop 
a classroom project, which they will 
present to their peers on August 16. 
Farm workshops may cover topics such 
as farm animals, local foods, nutrition, 
plant science, soils, technology, water, 
sustainable agriculture and more. 
This course will assist new educators 
and those who want to expand their 
curriculum. Participants will learn 
how to create community partnerships; 
link the classroom to the farm; expand 
math, science, social studies, English, 
art, nutrition, technology and more 
using agricultural examples. 
Marjorie Cooper 
President 
The fee for this eight-day course is 
$500 and includes all materials; farm 
workshops; meals and three graduate 
credits. Partial scholarships are avail-able 
to new teachers and those from 
urban schools. For more information 
visit www.aginclassroom.org. 
who attend our programs and the 
farmers whom we champion with our 
education programs who have always 
been our biggest supporters.
Gardening with 
Young Children 
Much more than plants grow from 
gardening with a child, no matter how 
young the child. The garden provides 
a terrific opportunity to bond while 
also having fun. There are endless 
opportunities to awaken a sense of 
wonder through exploration and 
discovery. These experiences expand 
the child’s world to include the earth, 
soil and sky while also providing 
memories that last a lifetime. 
Educational Benefits 
The garden is rich in meaningful 
learning opportunities and provides 
practical lessons that allow children 
to learn by doing. They can experience 
first-hand the food web cycle and 
the interactions between different 
organisms in the natural community. 
essential to the emotional 
health of children. These 
experiences bring a sense 
of belonging and 
form connections 
to nature and the 
larger human 
community. 
Several studies have 
also found that gardening reduces 
stress and increases self esteem in 
children. It provides opportunities 
to learn patience while waiting for 
things to grow. Concrete gardening 
tasks also focus children who might 
not normally concentrate for more 
than a few minutes. 
Growing living things gives children 
a sense of accomplishment and self 
reliance. They learn about nurturing 
and develop responsibility as they see 
how necessary their care is to plants. 
They develop pride and ownership 
in creating something aesthetically 
pleasing. Their self confidence 
increases as they reap the rewards of 
their work and are praised by others. 
Resources for Gardening 
with Young Children 
Mass. Dept. of Agricultural Resources 
www.mass.gov/agr 
Mass. Nursery & Landscape Association 
www.mnla.com 
Mass. Flower Growers Association 
www.massflowergrowers.com 
Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University 
http://arboretum.harvard.edu 
Berkshire Botanic Garden 
www.berkshirebotanical.org 
Massachusetts Audubon Society 
www.massaudubon.org 
Massachusetts Horticultural Society 
www.masshort.org 
New England Wild Flower Society 
www.newfs.org 
Worcester County Horticultural Society 
www.towerhillbg.org 
Curriculum & 
Resources Websites 
Brooklyn Botanic Garden - www.bbg.org 
California Foundation for Ag in Classroom 
www.cfaitc.org 
Colorado State Univ. - www.colostate.edu/ 
Dept/CoopExt/4dmg/Children/ingarden.htm 
The Great Plant Escape 
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/gpe/index.html 
Kids Gardening - www.kidsgardening.org 
The Kids Garden 
www.thekidsgarden.co.uk 
My First Garden 
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/firstgarden 
National Gardening Association 
www.garden.org 
Renees Garden 
www.reneesgarden.com/articles/child.html 
Sustainable Living - html://eartheasy. 
com/grow_gardening_children.htm 
UMass Extension - www.umassextension. 
org/index.php/information/gardening 
USDA Food & Nutrition Service - www. 
fns.usda.gov - Search for Grow it Books 
Information for this newsletter 
was taken from the resources listed above. 
The garden also provides opportunity 
for modeling as children observe 
and imitate older children and adults. 
Children have also been found to 
demonstrate better interpersonal 
skills and behavior. They benefit 
from spending time with you and also 
gain social interaction with young 
friends when they share their garden. 
In groups, gardening provides different 
forms of engagement for children to 
work cooperatively. They develop 
skills in negotiating and sharing 
responsibilities. Each also contributes 
in individual ways developing a greater 
self-understanding. Gardening can 
also facilitate opportunities for children 
to share their cultural heritage. 
Much formal research regarding the 
benefits of gardening for children has 
been conducted in the past 25 years. 
These studies show that interaction 
with the garden and the natural world 
provides numerous developmental 
benefits: educationally, emotionally, 
socially and physically. In addition the 
garden helps connect children to the 
world around them, including the 
natural environment and the food that 
sustains them. Because the early years 
are crucial for development, these 
experiences are even more rewarding 
for even the youngest children. 
Studies have shown that garden 
experiences offer improved cognitive 
benefits including: enhanced ability 
to focus; increased information recall; 
observational skills, creativity and 
the ability to reason. For teachers, 
gardening provides a full curriculum 
incorporating language, science, math, 
nutrition, social sciences and the 
arts. It provides different forms 
of engagement for children, 
such as: designing; planting; 
maintaining; recording; creating 
art and story telling. Tests have 
found children who garden 
score significantly higher on 
science achievement tests. 
Regular contact with 
the natural world is 
Physical Benefits 
Gardening provided healthy 
outdoor activity and an 
opportunity for both structured 
and unstructured play. As 
children work in the garden 
they develop physical 
skills such as eye-hand 
coordination and fine motor 
skills. While learning 
to use tools and carry 
out tasks, they develop 
strength and improved 
physical health. 
Social & Emotional 
Benefits
Environmental Benefits Nutritional Benefits 
When children garden, there are 
so many opportunities to learn 
that the food they eat comes 
from the land and is directly 
connected to the natural 
world. They can witness 
the food web cycle, from 
healthy soil to healthy 
edible crops. They can 
harvest, prepare food, 
eat the fruits of their 
labor and then recycle the wastes back 
to the garden through composting. 
There are so many chances to learn 
about nutrition, healthy eating 
Plants are as critical to our existence 
as air and water. In the garden the 
wonders of plant life are everywhere 
and there are many creatures to 
explore. The garden provides a 
unique environment for children 
to experience the workings of 
the natural world. As they follow 
their inborn curiosity, they observe, 
first-hand, the cycles of life and see 
them change over time. A greater 
appreciation and respect is formed as 
they learn the value 
of plants, animals and 
eco-systems. This leads 
to an understanding of 
the role we each play on 
the earth. These healthy eating habits, 
Good stewardship of 
natural resources is also 
a part of the lessons in 
gardening, and the child will see the 
principles in action. Going green 
become an innate part of their life. 
There’s no better way to avoid the 
carbon cost of shipping food vast 
distances than by growing it yourself. 
This translates to “food inches” from 
the garden to their plate. 
In the Garden 
and making good food choices. 
once formed, can last 
a lifetime, creating a 
sustainable life-style. Numerous 
studies have found that children who 
grow their own food are more likely 
to eat fresh fruits and vegetables and 
express a preference for these foods. 
They become more adventurous in 
eating fresh produce. They notice 
similarities and differences from their 
garden grown vegetables and those 
from the grocery store. 
Getting Started: Begin by talking with the child about 
the garden. Go some place where there is a garden to 
view. Encourage them to start a journal and write or 
draw their garden adventures and explorations. 
Make It Their Own: Give them their own garden space. 
Scale their garden to their age and abilities, so that they 
can manage the garden without feeling overwhelmed. 
For a toddler, one row or a few container pots is 
sufficient. A space of 3’ by 3’ is ideal for a preschooler. 
Gardening with the children is 
also safe and inexpensive. In 
many cases you don’t have 
to buy anything special. And 
growing and eating your 
own fruits and vegetables, 
saves money from the 
food budget. 
The experience of 
participating with 
children in gardening activities 
is invaluable. Whether you have 
access to a large garden plot, small 
yard or are confined to a windowbox, 
together you’ll find the joy of 
watching plants and the animals that 
live among them grow and flourish. 
You will find projects that awaken 
the sense of wonder and nourish the 
self confidence. The experience of 
planting a seed with a child and then 
watching it grow, while nurturing 
the plant and waiting for it to bear 
fruit, will expand their world. Plan to 
garden with the children in your life 
and appreciate the joy and amazement 
of discovering something new as 
you watch the garden and children 
mature. 
for quick success. For very young children, be sure to 
plant larger seeds, such as beans that are easily handled. 
Soak the seeds for a few hours to ensure germination. 
Garden Chores: Enlist the child in garden chores as much 
as their capabilities and attention span allow. In addition to 
planting and watering, they can mulch soil, remove insects 
and even do some weeding. Relax your standards a bit and 
do some behind the scenes maintenance, if necessary. 
The Plants: Engage the child to help in choosing the 
plants they will grow. Be sure to include some of the 
plants they really like to eat. You can choose some 
plants that are already started in pots. Let them dig the 
holes and gently tamp the soil down around the plant. 
More Rewards 
Design the Garden: Let the child help plan the garden. 
Give them a part in deciding where to put their own 
garden space and in its design. Talk about what plants 
need and healthy soil. Is there enough sun and is water 
readily available. Make sure the child can easily reach 
all the plants and properly care for the garden. 
Also include plant that are seeded directly into the ground 
to show the whole life cycle from seed to harvest. Choose 
some seeds that mature quickly, like radish and lettuces, 
Water, Water, Water: Provide a watering can or gentle 
shower or mist sprayer hose attachment so the child can 
water their own plants. With a very young child, you may 
want to water first and then have them follow after you. 
Give them their own garden tools, that are age appropriate. 
Kids size tools are easy to find and old kitchen utensils also 
serve well. Find a little bucket to store their tools next 
to yours. This will encourage ownership 
in caring for their own garden. Make 
plant markers. 
Finish the Cycle: Be sure 
to include the child in 
the harvest and 
preparation of 
their food 
for the 
table.
Tips for Gardening With Young Children 
Provide Opportunities for Success: 
Aim for rapid results. Try to steer 
them towards fairly quick cropping 
and easy to grow plants. Grow the 
plants they like to eat or that have 
a special interest. Do behind-the-scenes 
maintenance such as watering 
to ensure that plants live and produce. 
Intervene where necessary to assure 
success. Show off their garden. 
One of the best things that you can 
grow is a gardener. These tips will 
help you to engage their interest and 
create lasting memories. 
Relax Your Standards: Gardening 
priorities are different for young 
children than adults. The “doing” is 
more important than the end result. 
Let go of the need for perfection. 
Work as much as you can in small 
patches of time. Plan to get dirty, 
gardens require hands-on interactions 
with soil, plants and water. 
Engage them through the entire 
process, from seed to table. Make sure 
that they have their own garden space, 
and let them help plan that garden. 
Grow Something to Eat: Growing 
food is a great way to stimulate a 
child’s interest in gardening and 
teach that food comes from the land, 
whether directly or indirectly. Let 
them complete the cycle from seed 
to harvest to the table. There are so 
many natural lessons about nutrition 
and healthy eating. 
Keep the Garden Safe: Avoid 
pesticides, even organic ones, 
and keep fertilizers and sharp 
or motorized tools out of 
reach. Stay away from plants 
that are poisonous or have 
sharp thorns. Teach them what 
they can touch and to eat only 
those plants that you tell them 
are edible. Test the soil; children 
are very sensitive to lead poisoning. 
Gardening Books for Children 
Big Yellow Sunflower by Frances Barry, 
Candlewick, 2008. (picture book) 
Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! by Bob Barner, Chronicle 
Books, 1999. (picture book) 
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Kraus, Harper Collins, 
1945. (picture book - a classic) 
A Child’s Garden: 60 Ideas to Make Any 
Garden Come Alive for Children by Molly 
Dannenmaier, Timber Press, 2008. 
A Child’s Garden: Enchanted Outdoor 
Spaces for Children and Parents by Molly 
Dannenmaier, Simon and Schuster, 1998. 
Eating the Alphabet: Fruits and Vegetables 
from A to Z by Lois Ehlert, Red Wagon Books, 
1996. (picture book) 
Eddie’s Garden and How to Make Things Grow 
by Sarah Garland, Frances Lincoln Publisher, 
LTD, 2006. 
The Gardener by Sarah Stewart, David Small 
illustrator, Caldecott Honor Book, 1997. 
(historical fiction) 
A Gardener’s Alphabet by Mary Azarian 
Houghton Mifflin Co., 2000. (picture book) 
Gardening with Children by Monika 
Hannemann et al., Brooklyn Botanic Garden: 
All-Region Guides, 2007. 
Gardening with Children by Beth Richardson, 
Taunton Press, 1998. 
Gardening with Young Children (Early Years 
Series) by Beatrys Lockie, Hawthorn Press, 
2007. 
Gardening Wizardry for Kids by L. Patricia 
Kite, 1995. 
George and Flora’s Secret Garden by Joanna 
Elizabeth Elworthy, Random House, 2010. 
Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert, 
Harcourt Brace, 1990. 
Hollyhocks and Honeybees: Garden Projects 
for Young Children by Sara Starbuck et al., Red 
Leaf Press, 2002. 
In My Garden by Ward Schumaker, Chronicle 
Books, 2000. (picture book) 
Jack’s Garden by Henry Cole, Mulberry Press, 
1997. (Picture Book) 
Kids in the Garden Growing Plants for Food 
and Fun by Elizabeth McCorquodale, Black 
Dog Publishing, 2010. 
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert, Harcourt 
Brace, 1988. 
Pumpkin Circle: The Story of A Garden by 
George Levenson, 1997. (picture book) 
RHS: Grow It, Eat It by the Royal Horticultural 
Society, Dorling Kindersley, 2008. 
RHS: Wildlife Garden by Martyn Cox, Dorling 
Kindersley, 2009. 
Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening 
Together with Children by Sharon Lovejoy, 
Workman Publishers, 1999. 
Sunflower Houses by Eve Bunting, Voyager 
Books, 1999. 
The Surprise Garden by Zoe Hall, illustrated by 
Barbara Lambase, Harcourt-Brace, 1996. 
Be an Example in the Garden: Be 
a good model. Show them how much 
you love gardening and respect the 
natural world. Demonstrate how to 
handle living things with care and 
respect. Be a facilitator, never tell them 
something you can show t h e m . 
Teach with encouragement and 
enthusiasm. In a group, 
enlist older children to 
partner with the younger 
ones. 
Tie in All the Senses: Surround 
them with great gardens with a riot 
of sensory experiences. Help make 
the connection with what they see, 
feel, hear and smell and the feelings 
they have when they are in a garden. 
Encourage use of all the senses, but 
teach what is okay to touch or taste 
and when to check with an adult. 
Make It Fun: Be curious and open 
to whimsy and surprise. Let the 
child take the lead in discovery, then 
provide the background information. 
Give Them a Good Experience: 
Young children have short attention 
spans. Start off small and grow. 
Provide lots of simple activities 
and be prepared to change them as 
interest wanes. Spend as much or as 
little time as feels right to the child, 
you can always come back to the 
project later. But don’t expect them 
to work for long without your direct 
interaction. Grow something that 
appeals to them and use their other 
interests or hobbies to keep things 
interesting. Read a garden story or add 
an art easel to the garden or a sandbox 
for digging holes. Make sure you both 
wear comfortable clothes that can get 
wet and dirty. Keep tools and supplies 
size-appropriate to the task. 
Give Them a Say: 
Enlist them in the 
garden chores as much 
as their capabilities 
and attention span 
will allow. Offer 
guidance but let the 
child make the choices. 
Make the Environmental Connec-tion: 
Teach respect for the natural 
world and the cycles of life. Explore 
the soil; learn how plants are critical to 
all life and what plants need; discover 
beneficial insects; encourage wildlife 
in the garden and so much more.
Garden Wildlife 
There are endless opportunities to 
explore wildlife in the garden. Entire 
communities of insects, birds and 
animals live hidden away from view. 
What role does each organism play 
in the rhythm of the garden? 
Dig a hole in the soil or pick up a 
rock or branch to find a host of 
insects, worms and other organisms 
busy working to recycle waste and 
leaf litter. Butterflies, moths, bees, 
wasps and other insects stop by to 
collect pollen and nectar, pollinating 
the flowers as they go. Sit quietly and 
watch a flower to see who visits. 
Birds will visit the garden to feast on 
insects as well as the seed heads of 
flowering plants such as coreopsis 
and sunflowers. Dig in the soil and 
robins are sure to follow looking for 
tasty worms in the disturbed earth. 
Add water, bird food and a bit of 
shelter and birds are sure to find 
nesting spots in the garden. 
Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom 
P.O. Box 345 Seekonk, MA 02771 
www.aginclassroom.org 
Favorite Plants for Children 
Annual Flowers: amaranth, cosmos, 
lemon gem marigold, nasturtium, 
spider flower, sunflower and zinnia 
Vegetables: broccoli, carrots, cherry 
tomatoes, corn, bush beans, lettuces, 
mesclun greens, potatoes, pumpkins, 
radishes, snap peas, snow peas, 
spinach, watermelon and zucchini 
Add a small pond 
and you’ll provide 
drinking water and 
breeding sites for birds, bats and 
mammals as well as refuges for 
frogs, toads, turtles, newts and even 
snakes. Dragonflies, damselflies, 
water beetles, pond skaters, midges 
and other water insects soon appear. 
Pizza Garden: Plant a pizza garden 
by making a circle and dividing it 
in triangular pizza pie-slice beds 
containing different vegetables and 
herbs, lined with narrow 
pathways. Plant tomatoes, 
peppers, arugula, garlic, 
onions, basil, oregano, 
thyme and other herbs and 
vegetables. Harvest and 
make a pizza. 
You may even find signs of mammals 
in the garden. Look for evidence of 
chipmunks, squirrels, moles, voles, 
mice, groundhogs and even foxes. 
Sunflower House: Plant 
sunflower seeds 8-12” apart 
around the outside of a circle 
5-6 feet in diameter, leaving a space for 
the door. Then plant cardinal creeper 
seeds or the seeds of other small 
gourds next to the sunflower seeds. As 
the vines grow they will twine around 
the sunflowers. 
Tepee Shelter: Push bamboo poles 
into the ground at an angle, so they lean 
towards each other to make a tepee. Tie 
the poles together. Plant seeds of vines 
such as peas, beans, gourds, purple 
hyacinth beans or scarlet runner beans 
between the poles. Watch them climb 
and cover the teepee. 
Garden Activity Ideas 
Discover the magic of a spirally 
designed cobweb sparkling 
with morning dew. Look for an 
unsuspecting fly trapped in the web 
by the waiting spider. These spiders 
and other insects, such as the lady 
beetle are important garden predators, 
holding down the populations 
of destructive insects. Even the 
industrious ant can be helpful in 
establishing new 
colonies of plants 
by moving seed 
around the garden. 
Perennial Flowers: butterfly weed, 
catmint, coneflowers, core-opsis, 
daylilies, lady’s 
mantle, malva, sage, sedum, 
sundrops and yarrow 
Keep a nature journal of the plants, 
insects and animals in your garden. 
How do they change over time. Sit 
quietly and observe the garden, then 
draw or write what you see. Take photos 
of the plants at different stages. 
Plant a Three Sisters Garden using 
the native American companion 
planting involving a trio of corn, beans 
and squash. Learn the native customs. 
Harvest seeds from favorite plants, 
dry them and store them to plant again 
Plant a garden to attract wildlife. next year. Start a seed business. 
Learn which plants will support 
desirable birds, butterflies and insects. 
Where space is limited, start small with 
a container vegetable garden 
or lettuce in a window box. 
Plant a strawberry patch. 
Harvest vegetables, 
greens and herbs 
from the garden 
and plan a menu 
around these foods. 
Invite friends to join you and share 
the harvest from your garden. 
Plant spring bulbs outdoors 
in October; force paperwhite 
bulbs indoors at the same time. 
Sprout seeds such as alfalfa, black-eyed 
peas, Mung beans, snow peas or 
wheatgrass, that will be ready in a few 
days and can be added to salads and 
sandwiches. 
Herbs: alpine strawberries, 
anise hyssop, basil, chamo-mile, 
chives, dill, johnny 
jump up, lamb’s ear, 
lavender, lemon balm, mint, 
oregano, parsley thyme and yarrow 
Tropicals: banana, bay, citrus, ginger, 
lemon verbena, peanuts, pineapple 
mint, pineapple sage, rosemary and 
scented geraniums 
Vines: bottle gourd, cardinal climber, 
grapes, New Zealand spinach, purple 
hyacinth bean and scarlet runner bean 
Special Garden Spaces 
Investigate the insects in your garden. 
Find out which ones are beneficial. 
Start a compost pile and add the 
composted soil to the garden. 
Raise herbs on the windowsill. 
Plant grocery store plants, such 
as carrot tops, avocado pits or 
sweet potato eyes. 
Make a scarecrow for your garden 
In the winter, cut branches 
of flowering trees and put 
them in water to force 
them into bloom. 
Thank you to the Massachusetts Society 
for Promoting Agriculture for funding the 
development of this Teacher’s Resource 
portion of the MAC newsletter. 
m
Exceptional Teacher Award 
Do you know a teacher who does an 
exceptional job of 
bringing agriculture 
alive for their 
students? Consider 
nominating him 
or her for the MAC 
Teacher of the Year 
Award for 2011. Send 
us a description of 
his/her agricultural 
classroom and the 
reasons for your 
recommendation for the award. 
Applications are due March 15, 2011 
and will be announced in the autumn 
edition of our newsletter. 
National Conference! 
Mark Your Calendar! The 2011 
National Agriculture in the Classroom 
Conference will be held June 22-25 
in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at the 
Marriott Harbor Beach Resort and 
Spa. The theme this year is: Discover 
Education’s Hidden Treasure: 
Agriculture. The conference includes 
a variety of hands-on workshops 
and mini-workshops; make-and-take 
sessions and tours. Find information 
on the program and registration at 
www.agclassroom.org. 
Workshop on the Farm 
Join us for our 2011 winter workshop 
on the farm and try out some hands-on 
activities for the classroom. The 
workshop runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 
The fee of $30 includes pdps, lunch 
and all materials. 
During the winter break, spend 
Tuesday, February 22, at the 
Warren Farm & Sugar House in 
North Brookfield. In the morning 
over coffee and treats, learn about 
maple sugar history, Native American 
traditions and changes from Colonial 
times to today with owners Jan & 
Dale Wentworth. Find out about 
current threats to maples from global 
warming and the Asian Long-Horned 
beetle, and how their potential loss 
effects daily life and economic 
aspects in New England. Following a 
unique maple lunch, we’ll spend the 
afternoon out-of doors, exploring the 
sugaring operation and sugar house. 
You’ll assist with tubing installation 
and tap a tree, make maple candy 
and try out other hands-on activities 
to use in the classroom. Bring warm 
clothes and 
boots. Middle 
and high school 
teachers are 
encouraged. 
Annual Winter Conference 
MAC is sponsoring our 10th Annual 
Winter Conference for Educators 
at the Paul R. Baird Middle School 
in Ludlow on Saturday, March 
12th, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 
The conference provides teachers 
with activity ideas, resources and 
framework connections to link the 
farm and the classroom. 
Four workshops sessions will be 
held during the day, with a choice 
of six concurrent workshops per 
session. Each will be taught by a 
teacher, or a teacher working together 
with a farmer, and will offer specific 
background and activities for either 
elementary, middle or high school. 
The $50 fee includes all workshops; 
breakfast snack and lunch from 
nearby Randall’s Farm; materials, 
and ten PDPs with a related classroom 
activity. Registration Scholarships 
are available thanks to a grant from the 
Farm Credit East AgEnhancement 
Program. Big Y, Inc. in Springfield 
and the Massachusetts Department 
of Agricultural Resources also 
contributed funds to support this 
conference. A full list of workshops, 
registration form and the scholarship 
information can be found on our 
website at www.aginclassroom.org. 
REGISTRATION ... DONATION.... MATERIAL ORDER FORM 
Please fill out this form and return it to: MAC, Inc. P. O. Box 345 Seekonk, MA 02771 
Name ____________________________________________________________________ 
School or Organization _______________________ Address __________________________ 
City ____________________________ State ___________________ Zip _______________ 
Phone Number (day) ________________ (evening) _______________ e-mail _____________________________ 
I am registering for Maple Sugaring Workshop on February 22, N Brookfield ❑ $30 enclosed ❑ please send directions 
I am registering for the Winter Conference on March 12 in Ludlow ❑ $50 enclosed ❑ please send directions 
Please send information on: 
❑ The 2011 Summer Graduate Course; ❑ MAC 2010 Annual Report; ❑ Mini-Grant Guidelines 
I would like to order: ❑ “Eight Lessons About Agriculture & the Environment” $ 12 
❑ “Farm Field Trip Manual” $12; ❑ “Schoolyard Gardens & Their Community Partnerships Manual” $10 
I’d like to make a tax-deductible donation in the amount of: ❑ $50; ❑ $25; ❑ $10 Other donation ______
2012 Massachusetts Agriculture 
Calendar Photo Contest. Now is 
the time to start taking pictures for 
the 2012 Massachusetts Agriculture 
Calendar Photo Contest. Photos 
must be at least 4” by 6” and no 
larger than 8” by 10” and must have 
been taken in Massachusetts in the 
past three years. Send photos of 
local rural scenes, farm animals, 
and more by June 1 to Photo 
Contest, Mass. DAR, 251 Causeway 
Street, S. 500, Boston, MA 02114. 
For more information, e-mail to 
Richard.LeBlanc@state.ma.us. The 
twelve winners will be featured in 
the 2012 Mass. agriculture calendar 
and posted on MAC’s website. For 
details visit www.mass.gov/agr/. 
To receive more information, add a 
name to our mailing list or give us 
your comments: 
Mass. Agriculture 
in the Classroom 
P.O. Box 345 
Seekonk, MA 02771 
call Debi Hogan 
at 508-336-4426 
fax: 508-336-0682 
e-mail to debi.hogan@earthlink.net 
Website: www.aginclassroom.org 
Massachusetts Agriculture 
in the Classroom 
P.O. Box 345 
Seekonk, MA 02771 
Calendar of Events Resources 
February 25 to 27 - Youth Food & 
Justice Summit, Boston. Visit http:// 
realfoodchallenge.org/nefoodjustice2011. 
February 24 - CSA Farm Fair 
Share in Arlington. For information, 
visit csafairarlington.wordpress.com. 
March 1 to 3 - Harvest New 
England Agricultural Marketing 
Conference in Sturbridge, visit 
www.harvestnewengland.org. 
March 2 - MEES Conference at 
Holy Cross in Worcester. 2011Theme 
is Navigating Mass. Environmental 
Education at www.massmees.org. 
March 3 - Ecological Landscaping 
Assn. Conference & Eco-Fair at 
Mass Mutual in Springfield. Visit 
www.ecolandscaping.org. 
April 7 - The ABC’S of Farm 
Education: Farmer Project Season 
Workshop at Appleton Farm in 
Ipswich. Visit www.thetrustees.org. 
April 7 - Massachusetts Agriculture 
Day at State House. For info e-mail 
to agpromoboard@mfbf.org. 
May 12 - Mass. Envirothon in 
Carlisle at www.maenvirothon.org. 
My American Farm an on-line 
agricultural game from the Amer-ican 
Farm Bureau can be found at 
www.myamericanfarm.org. 
Hands to Earth: an educational 
website for the composting program 
at Quabbin Regional HS in Barre at 
www.handstoearth.com. 
Urban Environmental Program 
Website, a useful tool from EPA at 
www.epa.gov/region1/eco/uep. 
Maple Sugaring information, local 
farms and curriculum from the 
Mass. Maple Producers Association 
at www.massmaple.org. 
Bread Comes to Life classroom 
activities and resources on-line at 
www.pumpkincircle.com. 
Pollinator Partnership offers 
pollinator counts, planting guides, 
curriculum, teacher resources and 
more at www.pollinator.org. 
AgroWorld Science, Technology 
& Society e-zine at www.ag 
classroom.org/teen/agro/agro.htm. 
Grants for School and Youth 
Gardening: links and deadlines at 
www.kidsgardening.org/grants.asp.

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Winter 2011 School Gardening News ~ Massachusetts

  • 1. The Newsletter of Winter 2011 Workshops & Conferences Maple Sugaring Workshop Tuesday, February 22, 9:00 - 3:00 Warren Farm and Sugarhouse North Brookfield, MA $30 Annual Winter Conference Saturday, March 12, 8:30 - 3:30 Paul R. Baird Middle School Ludlow, MA $50 Summer Graduate Course 8 Workshops on Massachusetts Farms Starting: Tuesday, June 28, 2011 Ending: Wednesday, August 16, 2011 Farms across the State Details on page 2. Feature Topic: Gardening with Young Children Mission: Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) educational organization with the mission to foster an awareness and learning in all areas related to the food and agriculture industries and the economic and social importance of agriculture to the state, nation and the world. Volunteers Help Us Grow Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom is growing and you can help us grow. In 2011, we are expanding our educational programs to include outreach for parents and young children at fairs, festivals, farmers markets and other educational venues. Volunteers worked with MAC Board members to take fun agricultural activities to the Big E and other fairs. We invite you to join us as a volunteer. You will be supporting MAC while learning more about agriculture. Two separate training sessions will be held in 2011. The first is scheduled for the April School Vacation on April 19 & 20 in Marlborough; the second will take place in July. Each provides ten hours of training over two days, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., with lunch included. The training sessions are interchangeable to provide for maximum flexibility, should you be able to attend only one April date. Once training is completed, you’ll be given the opportunity to represent MAC at public events, working with at least one other volunteer or board member at any time. grant from the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture. We are extremely grateful to the Society for this support that will enhance and expand outreach in an important way. As we move forward with this new program, we welcome your input. If you, or someone you know, would make a terrific volunteer for MAC, please let us know. The training is sure to be both educational and fun. Scholarships Now Available! We are pleased to report that during the 2011 Calendar Year, a number of full and partial Registration Scholarships are available to new and urban educators for all of MAC’s popular education programs. These Scholarships are sponsored by a $2,860 grant from the Farm Credit East AgEnhancement Program. We are truly grateful to Farm Credit East for this important support of Massachusetts’ teachers and MAC’s education programs. For more information visit our website. As part of this initiative MAC is pleased to announce the initiation of a new Volunteer Program. We are currently developing a volunteer manual, presentation materials and a training course to support this new endeavor. All volunteers will receive a copy of the manual, power point presentation and ten hours of training about agriculture in Massachusetts, MAC and lessons for engaging young children in agricultural activities. This new volunteer initiative and three new agricultural kits that will help volunteers take fun activities for kids to fairs and festivals was supported by a
  • 2. 2010 Mini Grants The MAC Mini-Grant program awarded $3,142 in 2010 to support these seven worthy agricultural education projects. Grants of up to $1,500 are awarded three times a year. The deadlines for proposal submission are the first of April, September and November. We encourage any Massachusetts educators to submit a proposals to enhance their educational program. More information and mini-grant guidelines are available on-line at www.aginclassroom.org or e-mail us to request a brochure at massaginclassroom@earthlink.net. April 2010 Mini-Grants “From Garden to Plate” Marblehead High School $365 “Egg to Chicken” Barry School, Chicopee $300 “Science, the Visual Arts and Vermicomposting Collide Hubbardston Elementary School $280 “NES Courtyard Garden” Northbridge Elementary School $145 “Hatching Chicks at West Elementary” West Elementary School, Southbridge $300 April Funding Total $1,390 September 2010 Mini-Grants “Vermicomposting in the Classroom for a Three Sisters Garden in the Schoolyard” Kenny Elementary Sch., Dorchester $752 September Funding Total $752 November 2010 Mini-Grants “YouthSeed: Seed Starting & Nursery Care” Youth Build Lowell $1,000 November Funding Total $1,000 Total 2010 Mini-Grant Awards $3,142 President’s Message 2010 brought a lot of changes for Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom, and I am pleased to report that this year of growth and long-range planning has served us well. Our programs are better than ever, reaching ever increasing numbers of educators, while our finances are gaining strength. We thank all the teacher participants, workshop presenters, farm hosts, volunteers and donors who have made this year a success. It is the teachers Come see what agriculture has to offer, while you learn about farming during our Summer Graduate Course. We are especially grateful this year to several organization and foundations that sponsored our educational efforts during the year. 2010 began with a $1,000 grant from Farm Credit East AgEnhancement Program to support printing our winter newsletter. This foundation awarded us a $2,800 grant in 2011 to initiate a new Scholarship program. The Whole Foods Markets in the North Atlantic Region sponsored our Fall Greening the School Conference for Educators and Big Y Foods, Inc. donated $1,000 to sponsor our 2011 Winter Conference. Last spring, MAC was awarded a Marketing Grant from the Mass. Dept. of Agricultural Resources. We developed fun agricultural activities for children that were previewed at agricultural fairs last fall and then posted on our website. The addition of these new activities led us to an update for our whole website, which should be in effect by mid-February. We hope you visit soon to see the new look! Building on this fairs initiative MAC applied for and received a grant from the Western Massachusetts Trustees of the Eastern States Exposition to support our efforts at the Big E. Then this fall, MAC was awarded a $9,000 grant from the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture to help us develop tools and training for a new volunteer program that will expand our outreach to even more fairs and public events. Thank you to each of you for this impressive support of our educational programs. Summer Graduate Course Plan to join us for our popular Summer Graduate Course for Educators, now in it’s 6th year. MAC will collaborate with Fitchburg State College to offer this three-credit graduate course, titled “Growing Agriculture in the Classroom.” Using Massachusetts farms as the classrooms, teachers are immersed in agricultural-literacy training through fun, hands-on study and investigation of agriculture education resources. It helps enhance curriculum and meets many MCAS requirements. The course will meet on Tuesdays, June 28 and August 16 at the Brigham Hill Community Farm in North Grafton from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Each registrant must attend both sessions and also participate in six additional workshops during the summer, selected from approximately twelve workshops on a variety of topics on farm locations across the state. Participants will keep a journal of their agricultural journey and develop a classroom project, which they will present to their peers on August 16. Farm workshops may cover topics such as farm animals, local foods, nutrition, plant science, soils, technology, water, sustainable agriculture and more. This course will assist new educators and those who want to expand their curriculum. Participants will learn how to create community partnerships; link the classroom to the farm; expand math, science, social studies, English, art, nutrition, technology and more using agricultural examples. Marjorie Cooper President The fee for this eight-day course is $500 and includes all materials; farm workshops; meals and three graduate credits. Partial scholarships are avail-able to new teachers and those from urban schools. For more information visit www.aginclassroom.org. who attend our programs and the farmers whom we champion with our education programs who have always been our biggest supporters.
  • 3. Gardening with Young Children Much more than plants grow from gardening with a child, no matter how young the child. The garden provides a terrific opportunity to bond while also having fun. There are endless opportunities to awaken a sense of wonder through exploration and discovery. These experiences expand the child’s world to include the earth, soil and sky while also providing memories that last a lifetime. Educational Benefits The garden is rich in meaningful learning opportunities and provides practical lessons that allow children to learn by doing. They can experience first-hand the food web cycle and the interactions between different organisms in the natural community. essential to the emotional health of children. These experiences bring a sense of belonging and form connections to nature and the larger human community. Several studies have also found that gardening reduces stress and increases self esteem in children. It provides opportunities to learn patience while waiting for things to grow. Concrete gardening tasks also focus children who might not normally concentrate for more than a few minutes. Growing living things gives children a sense of accomplishment and self reliance. They learn about nurturing and develop responsibility as they see how necessary their care is to plants. They develop pride and ownership in creating something aesthetically pleasing. Their self confidence increases as they reap the rewards of their work and are praised by others. Resources for Gardening with Young Children Mass. Dept. of Agricultural Resources www.mass.gov/agr Mass. Nursery & Landscape Association www.mnla.com Mass. Flower Growers Association www.massflowergrowers.com Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University http://arboretum.harvard.edu Berkshire Botanic Garden www.berkshirebotanical.org Massachusetts Audubon Society www.massaudubon.org Massachusetts Horticultural Society www.masshort.org New England Wild Flower Society www.newfs.org Worcester County Horticultural Society www.towerhillbg.org Curriculum & Resources Websites Brooklyn Botanic Garden - www.bbg.org California Foundation for Ag in Classroom www.cfaitc.org Colorado State Univ. - www.colostate.edu/ Dept/CoopExt/4dmg/Children/ingarden.htm The Great Plant Escape http://urbanext.illinois.edu/gpe/index.html Kids Gardening - www.kidsgardening.org The Kids Garden www.thekidsgarden.co.uk My First Garden http://urbanext.illinois.edu/firstgarden National Gardening Association www.garden.org Renees Garden www.reneesgarden.com/articles/child.html Sustainable Living - html://eartheasy. com/grow_gardening_children.htm UMass Extension - www.umassextension. org/index.php/information/gardening USDA Food & Nutrition Service - www. fns.usda.gov - Search for Grow it Books Information for this newsletter was taken from the resources listed above. The garden also provides opportunity for modeling as children observe and imitate older children and adults. Children have also been found to demonstrate better interpersonal skills and behavior. They benefit from spending time with you and also gain social interaction with young friends when they share their garden. In groups, gardening provides different forms of engagement for children to work cooperatively. They develop skills in negotiating and sharing responsibilities. Each also contributes in individual ways developing a greater self-understanding. Gardening can also facilitate opportunities for children to share their cultural heritage. Much formal research regarding the benefits of gardening for children has been conducted in the past 25 years. These studies show that interaction with the garden and the natural world provides numerous developmental benefits: educationally, emotionally, socially and physically. In addition the garden helps connect children to the world around them, including the natural environment and the food that sustains them. Because the early years are crucial for development, these experiences are even more rewarding for even the youngest children. Studies have shown that garden experiences offer improved cognitive benefits including: enhanced ability to focus; increased information recall; observational skills, creativity and the ability to reason. For teachers, gardening provides a full curriculum incorporating language, science, math, nutrition, social sciences and the arts. It provides different forms of engagement for children, such as: designing; planting; maintaining; recording; creating art and story telling. Tests have found children who garden score significantly higher on science achievement tests. Regular contact with the natural world is Physical Benefits Gardening provided healthy outdoor activity and an opportunity for both structured and unstructured play. As children work in the garden they develop physical skills such as eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills. While learning to use tools and carry out tasks, they develop strength and improved physical health. Social & Emotional Benefits
  • 4. Environmental Benefits Nutritional Benefits When children garden, there are so many opportunities to learn that the food they eat comes from the land and is directly connected to the natural world. They can witness the food web cycle, from healthy soil to healthy edible crops. They can harvest, prepare food, eat the fruits of their labor and then recycle the wastes back to the garden through composting. There are so many chances to learn about nutrition, healthy eating Plants are as critical to our existence as air and water. In the garden the wonders of plant life are everywhere and there are many creatures to explore. The garden provides a unique environment for children to experience the workings of the natural world. As they follow their inborn curiosity, they observe, first-hand, the cycles of life and see them change over time. A greater appreciation and respect is formed as they learn the value of plants, animals and eco-systems. This leads to an understanding of the role we each play on the earth. These healthy eating habits, Good stewardship of natural resources is also a part of the lessons in gardening, and the child will see the principles in action. Going green become an innate part of their life. There’s no better way to avoid the carbon cost of shipping food vast distances than by growing it yourself. This translates to “food inches” from the garden to their plate. In the Garden and making good food choices. once formed, can last a lifetime, creating a sustainable life-style. Numerous studies have found that children who grow their own food are more likely to eat fresh fruits and vegetables and express a preference for these foods. They become more adventurous in eating fresh produce. They notice similarities and differences from their garden grown vegetables and those from the grocery store. Getting Started: Begin by talking with the child about the garden. Go some place where there is a garden to view. Encourage them to start a journal and write or draw their garden adventures and explorations. Make It Their Own: Give them their own garden space. Scale their garden to their age and abilities, so that they can manage the garden without feeling overwhelmed. For a toddler, one row or a few container pots is sufficient. A space of 3’ by 3’ is ideal for a preschooler. Gardening with the children is also safe and inexpensive. In many cases you don’t have to buy anything special. And growing and eating your own fruits and vegetables, saves money from the food budget. The experience of participating with children in gardening activities is invaluable. Whether you have access to a large garden plot, small yard or are confined to a windowbox, together you’ll find the joy of watching plants and the animals that live among them grow and flourish. You will find projects that awaken the sense of wonder and nourish the self confidence. The experience of planting a seed with a child and then watching it grow, while nurturing the plant and waiting for it to bear fruit, will expand their world. Plan to garden with the children in your life and appreciate the joy and amazement of discovering something new as you watch the garden and children mature. for quick success. For very young children, be sure to plant larger seeds, such as beans that are easily handled. Soak the seeds for a few hours to ensure germination. Garden Chores: Enlist the child in garden chores as much as their capabilities and attention span allow. In addition to planting and watering, they can mulch soil, remove insects and even do some weeding. Relax your standards a bit and do some behind the scenes maintenance, if necessary. The Plants: Engage the child to help in choosing the plants they will grow. Be sure to include some of the plants they really like to eat. You can choose some plants that are already started in pots. Let them dig the holes and gently tamp the soil down around the plant. More Rewards Design the Garden: Let the child help plan the garden. Give them a part in deciding where to put their own garden space and in its design. Talk about what plants need and healthy soil. Is there enough sun and is water readily available. Make sure the child can easily reach all the plants and properly care for the garden. Also include plant that are seeded directly into the ground to show the whole life cycle from seed to harvest. Choose some seeds that mature quickly, like radish and lettuces, Water, Water, Water: Provide a watering can or gentle shower or mist sprayer hose attachment so the child can water their own plants. With a very young child, you may want to water first and then have them follow after you. Give them their own garden tools, that are age appropriate. Kids size tools are easy to find and old kitchen utensils also serve well. Find a little bucket to store their tools next to yours. This will encourage ownership in caring for their own garden. Make plant markers. Finish the Cycle: Be sure to include the child in the harvest and preparation of their food for the table.
  • 5. Tips for Gardening With Young Children Provide Opportunities for Success: Aim for rapid results. Try to steer them towards fairly quick cropping and easy to grow plants. Grow the plants they like to eat or that have a special interest. Do behind-the-scenes maintenance such as watering to ensure that plants live and produce. Intervene where necessary to assure success. Show off their garden. One of the best things that you can grow is a gardener. These tips will help you to engage their interest and create lasting memories. Relax Your Standards: Gardening priorities are different for young children than adults. The “doing” is more important than the end result. Let go of the need for perfection. Work as much as you can in small patches of time. Plan to get dirty, gardens require hands-on interactions with soil, plants and water. Engage them through the entire process, from seed to table. Make sure that they have their own garden space, and let them help plan that garden. Grow Something to Eat: Growing food is a great way to stimulate a child’s interest in gardening and teach that food comes from the land, whether directly or indirectly. Let them complete the cycle from seed to harvest to the table. There are so many natural lessons about nutrition and healthy eating. Keep the Garden Safe: Avoid pesticides, even organic ones, and keep fertilizers and sharp or motorized tools out of reach. Stay away from plants that are poisonous or have sharp thorns. Teach them what they can touch and to eat only those plants that you tell them are edible. Test the soil; children are very sensitive to lead poisoning. Gardening Books for Children Big Yellow Sunflower by Frances Barry, Candlewick, 2008. (picture book) Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! by Bob Barner, Chronicle Books, 1999. (picture book) The Carrot Seed by Ruth Kraus, Harper Collins, 1945. (picture book - a classic) A Child’s Garden: 60 Ideas to Make Any Garden Come Alive for Children by Molly Dannenmaier, Timber Press, 2008. A Child’s Garden: Enchanted Outdoor Spaces for Children and Parents by Molly Dannenmaier, Simon and Schuster, 1998. Eating the Alphabet: Fruits and Vegetables from A to Z by Lois Ehlert, Red Wagon Books, 1996. (picture book) Eddie’s Garden and How to Make Things Grow by Sarah Garland, Frances Lincoln Publisher, LTD, 2006. The Gardener by Sarah Stewart, David Small illustrator, Caldecott Honor Book, 1997. (historical fiction) A Gardener’s Alphabet by Mary Azarian Houghton Mifflin Co., 2000. (picture book) Gardening with Children by Monika Hannemann et al., Brooklyn Botanic Garden: All-Region Guides, 2007. Gardening with Children by Beth Richardson, Taunton Press, 1998. Gardening with Young Children (Early Years Series) by Beatrys Lockie, Hawthorn Press, 2007. Gardening Wizardry for Kids by L. Patricia Kite, 1995. George and Flora’s Secret Garden by Joanna Elizabeth Elworthy, Random House, 2010. Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert, Harcourt Brace, 1990. Hollyhocks and Honeybees: Garden Projects for Young Children by Sara Starbuck et al., Red Leaf Press, 2002. In My Garden by Ward Schumaker, Chronicle Books, 2000. (picture book) Jack’s Garden by Henry Cole, Mulberry Press, 1997. (Picture Book) Kids in the Garden Growing Plants for Food and Fun by Elizabeth McCorquodale, Black Dog Publishing, 2010. Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert, Harcourt Brace, 1988. Pumpkin Circle: The Story of A Garden by George Levenson, 1997. (picture book) RHS: Grow It, Eat It by the Royal Horticultural Society, Dorling Kindersley, 2008. RHS: Wildlife Garden by Martyn Cox, Dorling Kindersley, 2009. Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening Together with Children by Sharon Lovejoy, Workman Publishers, 1999. Sunflower Houses by Eve Bunting, Voyager Books, 1999. The Surprise Garden by Zoe Hall, illustrated by Barbara Lambase, Harcourt-Brace, 1996. Be an Example in the Garden: Be a good model. Show them how much you love gardening and respect the natural world. Demonstrate how to handle living things with care and respect. Be a facilitator, never tell them something you can show t h e m . Teach with encouragement and enthusiasm. In a group, enlist older children to partner with the younger ones. Tie in All the Senses: Surround them with great gardens with a riot of sensory experiences. Help make the connection with what they see, feel, hear and smell and the feelings they have when they are in a garden. Encourage use of all the senses, but teach what is okay to touch or taste and when to check with an adult. Make It Fun: Be curious and open to whimsy and surprise. Let the child take the lead in discovery, then provide the background information. Give Them a Good Experience: Young children have short attention spans. Start off small and grow. Provide lots of simple activities and be prepared to change them as interest wanes. Spend as much or as little time as feels right to the child, you can always come back to the project later. But don’t expect them to work for long without your direct interaction. Grow something that appeals to them and use their other interests or hobbies to keep things interesting. Read a garden story or add an art easel to the garden or a sandbox for digging holes. Make sure you both wear comfortable clothes that can get wet and dirty. Keep tools and supplies size-appropriate to the task. Give Them a Say: Enlist them in the garden chores as much as their capabilities and attention span will allow. Offer guidance but let the child make the choices. Make the Environmental Connec-tion: Teach respect for the natural world and the cycles of life. Explore the soil; learn how plants are critical to all life and what plants need; discover beneficial insects; encourage wildlife in the garden and so much more.
  • 6. Garden Wildlife There are endless opportunities to explore wildlife in the garden. Entire communities of insects, birds and animals live hidden away from view. What role does each organism play in the rhythm of the garden? Dig a hole in the soil or pick up a rock or branch to find a host of insects, worms and other organisms busy working to recycle waste and leaf litter. Butterflies, moths, bees, wasps and other insects stop by to collect pollen and nectar, pollinating the flowers as they go. Sit quietly and watch a flower to see who visits. Birds will visit the garden to feast on insects as well as the seed heads of flowering plants such as coreopsis and sunflowers. Dig in the soil and robins are sure to follow looking for tasty worms in the disturbed earth. Add water, bird food and a bit of shelter and birds are sure to find nesting spots in the garden. Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom P.O. Box 345 Seekonk, MA 02771 www.aginclassroom.org Favorite Plants for Children Annual Flowers: amaranth, cosmos, lemon gem marigold, nasturtium, spider flower, sunflower and zinnia Vegetables: broccoli, carrots, cherry tomatoes, corn, bush beans, lettuces, mesclun greens, potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, snap peas, snow peas, spinach, watermelon and zucchini Add a small pond and you’ll provide drinking water and breeding sites for birds, bats and mammals as well as refuges for frogs, toads, turtles, newts and even snakes. Dragonflies, damselflies, water beetles, pond skaters, midges and other water insects soon appear. Pizza Garden: Plant a pizza garden by making a circle and dividing it in triangular pizza pie-slice beds containing different vegetables and herbs, lined with narrow pathways. Plant tomatoes, peppers, arugula, garlic, onions, basil, oregano, thyme and other herbs and vegetables. Harvest and make a pizza. You may even find signs of mammals in the garden. Look for evidence of chipmunks, squirrels, moles, voles, mice, groundhogs and even foxes. Sunflower House: Plant sunflower seeds 8-12” apart around the outside of a circle 5-6 feet in diameter, leaving a space for the door. Then plant cardinal creeper seeds or the seeds of other small gourds next to the sunflower seeds. As the vines grow they will twine around the sunflowers. Tepee Shelter: Push bamboo poles into the ground at an angle, so they lean towards each other to make a tepee. Tie the poles together. Plant seeds of vines such as peas, beans, gourds, purple hyacinth beans or scarlet runner beans between the poles. Watch them climb and cover the teepee. Garden Activity Ideas Discover the magic of a spirally designed cobweb sparkling with morning dew. Look for an unsuspecting fly trapped in the web by the waiting spider. These spiders and other insects, such as the lady beetle are important garden predators, holding down the populations of destructive insects. Even the industrious ant can be helpful in establishing new colonies of plants by moving seed around the garden. Perennial Flowers: butterfly weed, catmint, coneflowers, core-opsis, daylilies, lady’s mantle, malva, sage, sedum, sundrops and yarrow Keep a nature journal of the plants, insects and animals in your garden. How do they change over time. Sit quietly and observe the garden, then draw or write what you see. Take photos of the plants at different stages. Plant a Three Sisters Garden using the native American companion planting involving a trio of corn, beans and squash. Learn the native customs. Harvest seeds from favorite plants, dry them and store them to plant again Plant a garden to attract wildlife. next year. Start a seed business. Learn which plants will support desirable birds, butterflies and insects. Where space is limited, start small with a container vegetable garden or lettuce in a window box. Plant a strawberry patch. Harvest vegetables, greens and herbs from the garden and plan a menu around these foods. Invite friends to join you and share the harvest from your garden. Plant spring bulbs outdoors in October; force paperwhite bulbs indoors at the same time. Sprout seeds such as alfalfa, black-eyed peas, Mung beans, snow peas or wheatgrass, that will be ready in a few days and can be added to salads and sandwiches. Herbs: alpine strawberries, anise hyssop, basil, chamo-mile, chives, dill, johnny jump up, lamb’s ear, lavender, lemon balm, mint, oregano, parsley thyme and yarrow Tropicals: banana, bay, citrus, ginger, lemon verbena, peanuts, pineapple mint, pineapple sage, rosemary and scented geraniums Vines: bottle gourd, cardinal climber, grapes, New Zealand spinach, purple hyacinth bean and scarlet runner bean Special Garden Spaces Investigate the insects in your garden. Find out which ones are beneficial. Start a compost pile and add the composted soil to the garden. Raise herbs on the windowsill. Plant grocery store plants, such as carrot tops, avocado pits or sweet potato eyes. Make a scarecrow for your garden In the winter, cut branches of flowering trees and put them in water to force them into bloom. Thank you to the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture for funding the development of this Teacher’s Resource portion of the MAC newsletter. m
  • 7. Exceptional Teacher Award Do you know a teacher who does an exceptional job of bringing agriculture alive for their students? Consider nominating him or her for the MAC Teacher of the Year Award for 2011. Send us a description of his/her agricultural classroom and the reasons for your recommendation for the award. Applications are due March 15, 2011 and will be announced in the autumn edition of our newsletter. National Conference! Mark Your Calendar! The 2011 National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference will be held June 22-25 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort and Spa. The theme this year is: Discover Education’s Hidden Treasure: Agriculture. The conference includes a variety of hands-on workshops and mini-workshops; make-and-take sessions and tours. Find information on the program and registration at www.agclassroom.org. Workshop on the Farm Join us for our 2011 winter workshop on the farm and try out some hands-on activities for the classroom. The workshop runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The fee of $30 includes pdps, lunch and all materials. During the winter break, spend Tuesday, February 22, at the Warren Farm & Sugar House in North Brookfield. In the morning over coffee and treats, learn about maple sugar history, Native American traditions and changes from Colonial times to today with owners Jan & Dale Wentworth. Find out about current threats to maples from global warming and the Asian Long-Horned beetle, and how their potential loss effects daily life and economic aspects in New England. Following a unique maple lunch, we’ll spend the afternoon out-of doors, exploring the sugaring operation and sugar house. You’ll assist with tubing installation and tap a tree, make maple candy and try out other hands-on activities to use in the classroom. Bring warm clothes and boots. Middle and high school teachers are encouraged. Annual Winter Conference MAC is sponsoring our 10th Annual Winter Conference for Educators at the Paul R. Baird Middle School in Ludlow on Saturday, March 12th, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The conference provides teachers with activity ideas, resources and framework connections to link the farm and the classroom. Four workshops sessions will be held during the day, with a choice of six concurrent workshops per session. Each will be taught by a teacher, or a teacher working together with a farmer, and will offer specific background and activities for either elementary, middle or high school. The $50 fee includes all workshops; breakfast snack and lunch from nearby Randall’s Farm; materials, and ten PDPs with a related classroom activity. Registration Scholarships are available thanks to a grant from the Farm Credit East AgEnhancement Program. Big Y, Inc. in Springfield and the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources also contributed funds to support this conference. A full list of workshops, registration form and the scholarship information can be found on our website at www.aginclassroom.org. REGISTRATION ... DONATION.... MATERIAL ORDER FORM Please fill out this form and return it to: MAC, Inc. P. O. Box 345 Seekonk, MA 02771 Name ____________________________________________________________________ School or Organization _______________________ Address __________________________ City ____________________________ State ___________________ Zip _______________ Phone Number (day) ________________ (evening) _______________ e-mail _____________________________ I am registering for Maple Sugaring Workshop on February 22, N Brookfield ❑ $30 enclosed ❑ please send directions I am registering for the Winter Conference on March 12 in Ludlow ❑ $50 enclosed ❑ please send directions Please send information on: ❑ The 2011 Summer Graduate Course; ❑ MAC 2010 Annual Report; ❑ Mini-Grant Guidelines I would like to order: ❑ “Eight Lessons About Agriculture & the Environment” $ 12 ❑ “Farm Field Trip Manual” $12; ❑ “Schoolyard Gardens & Their Community Partnerships Manual” $10 I’d like to make a tax-deductible donation in the amount of: ❑ $50; ❑ $25; ❑ $10 Other donation ______
  • 8. 2012 Massachusetts Agriculture Calendar Photo Contest. Now is the time to start taking pictures for the 2012 Massachusetts Agriculture Calendar Photo Contest. Photos must be at least 4” by 6” and no larger than 8” by 10” and must have been taken in Massachusetts in the past three years. Send photos of local rural scenes, farm animals, and more by June 1 to Photo Contest, Mass. DAR, 251 Causeway Street, S. 500, Boston, MA 02114. For more information, e-mail to Richard.LeBlanc@state.ma.us. The twelve winners will be featured in the 2012 Mass. agriculture calendar and posted on MAC’s website. For details visit www.mass.gov/agr/. To receive more information, add a name to our mailing list or give us your comments: Mass. Agriculture in the Classroom P.O. Box 345 Seekonk, MA 02771 call Debi Hogan at 508-336-4426 fax: 508-336-0682 e-mail to debi.hogan@earthlink.net Website: www.aginclassroom.org Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom P.O. Box 345 Seekonk, MA 02771 Calendar of Events Resources February 25 to 27 - Youth Food & Justice Summit, Boston. Visit http:// realfoodchallenge.org/nefoodjustice2011. February 24 - CSA Farm Fair Share in Arlington. For information, visit csafairarlington.wordpress.com. March 1 to 3 - Harvest New England Agricultural Marketing Conference in Sturbridge, visit www.harvestnewengland.org. March 2 - MEES Conference at Holy Cross in Worcester. 2011Theme is Navigating Mass. Environmental Education at www.massmees.org. March 3 - Ecological Landscaping Assn. Conference & Eco-Fair at Mass Mutual in Springfield. Visit www.ecolandscaping.org. April 7 - The ABC’S of Farm Education: Farmer Project Season Workshop at Appleton Farm in Ipswich. Visit www.thetrustees.org. April 7 - Massachusetts Agriculture Day at State House. For info e-mail to agpromoboard@mfbf.org. May 12 - Mass. Envirothon in Carlisle at www.maenvirothon.org. My American Farm an on-line agricultural game from the Amer-ican Farm Bureau can be found at www.myamericanfarm.org. Hands to Earth: an educational website for the composting program at Quabbin Regional HS in Barre at www.handstoearth.com. Urban Environmental Program Website, a useful tool from EPA at www.epa.gov/region1/eco/uep. Maple Sugaring information, local farms and curriculum from the Mass. Maple Producers Association at www.massmaple.org. Bread Comes to Life classroom activities and resources on-line at www.pumpkincircle.com. Pollinator Partnership offers pollinator counts, planting guides, curriculum, teacher resources and more at www.pollinator.org. AgroWorld Science, Technology & Society e-zine at www.ag classroom.org/teen/agro/agro.htm. Grants for School and Youth Gardening: links and deadlines at www.kidsgardening.org/grants.asp.