Have you ever asked your students where food comes from?  Wouldn’t it be great not only for your students to have a better understanding of where their food comes from, but to take an active role in growing some of it themselves?

Planting a teaching garden is like building an outdoor classroom.  A garden can be used as a valuable educational tool.  Just by planning and planting, you'll already be teaching the children about what a plant needs to grow and where food comes from. Gardens are the perfect launching pad for student-directed inquiry. 

What valuable lessons can students derive from a garden?

-      Teach basic math skills in both the planting and harvesting stages. Older children can use the garden to think about cost analysis, using simple addition and subtraction.

-      A school garden provides built-in nutrition education. Children can pick fruits and vegetables for a healthy afternoon snack, and the garden can provide hands-on education about the food groups.

-      Teach lessons in history through gardening. You might grow a "three sisters" garden, which was a Native American companion planting technique including corn, beans, and squash.  

The possibilities of lessons learned from your school garden are endless. Read how Christine Palermo, a head start teacher in Philadelphia, teaches her students by planting and maintaining a garden.