May 2016 Photo Moment of the Month

It used to be that teachers felt like they had to "sneak" garden-based science lessons into their students' education. This week we saw first hand how the tide is turning and hands-on, minds-on, inquiry-based, outdoor science education is being encouraged in schools! This, in turn, leads to a deeper exploration of outdoor science also in the classroom. For example, a normally dull lesson about the periodic table can be made more engaging by linking it to the outdoor world explored in a recent garden-based lesson - especially if educational toys for science are used as well.

Donna Casanova, the K-12 Science Supervisor for the Providence Public Schools in Rhode Island, called to place the largest order we've ever had for our Growing Classroom activity guide: 625 copies! Casanova is in the process of guiding her teachers through the transition into teaching the new Next Generation Science Standards. She saw useful connections between the activities and approach outlined in our book and the goals set forth by the new science standards, and so she decided to provide every elementary science teacher in her district with a copy of the book at the start of the 2016-2017 school year! This is how we change the nature of education: one child, one teacher, one school, one district, one leader at a time.

The Growing Classroom is widely considered one of the most comprehensive resources for garden-based science and nutrition education. Every FoodCorps Service Member has a copy, as do countless garden educators nationwide. If you haven't seen a copy, you can check it out here.