One of the main components of farm to ECE is food, nutrition, and agriculture education. Experiential food education can be very influential in the development of lifelong eating habits and is viewed by many providers as one of the simplest ways to start engaging in farm to ECE. During educational activities, children learn how food grows, what food feels and looks like, where it comes from, what it tastes like, and how to cook it. This can be achieved through a wide variety of activities, such as:
- Reading books related to food or farming
- Arts and crafts
- Singing songs
- Taste tests
- Field trips and farmer visits
- Cooking classes
Below are resources to get started or expand your farm to ECE educational activities.
Classroom Focused Curriculums and Activities
- Harvest for Healthy Kids An activity kit for each plant of the month with hands-on and nutrition education activities, teacher guides, and newsletters (English and Spanish)
- Seattle Farm to Preschool Kit Guide that includes activities, glossary, recipes, and more!
- IATP Farm to Childcare Curriculum with classroom activities organized by plant
- Growing Minds Lesson plans with activities and books by month
- Harvest of the Month California’s Farm to ECE curriculum with an activity each week including cooking, science, and circle-time based lessons (Available in Spanish)
- Pint Sized Produce An easy-to-use, introductory Farm to ECE curriculum
- Farm to ECE Curricula Guide An easy reference guide on the curriculums linked above (Available in Spanish)
- Find garden focused curriculums and activities on the gardening page
Field Trips and Farmer Visits
- The Hayride: An Education Resource for Farm Field Trips A comprehensive guide with information about logistics, connecting field trips to curriculum, and other resources
- Rutgers Farm Field Trip Guide Includes lesson plan and activities for K-5; can be adapted
- Farm to Preschool: Farm Field Trips Ecotrust’s quick guide with steps and considerations for planning your field trip
- Farmer’s market Scavenger Hunt A worksheet by the Plant a Seed foundation to help guide your farmer’s market field trip
- Virtual Learning Resources download Virtual farm to ECE lessons and farm tours
Other Activities and Education Resources
- NFSN Creative Curriculum Guide A guide to using the creative curriculum in the preschool setting. Includes ideas by classroom interest areas, intentional teaching cards and their Farm to ECE adaptations, questions, props, poems, and more to seamlessly adopt Farm to ECE
- Food Talk! Conversation Cards for Mealtimes Washington State Department of Health’s conversation cards with questions meant to foster conversation between children while helping them to understand and appreciate healthy food and where it comes from. Also available in Spanish
- Washington State Taste Test Signs Hang these signs outside classroom doors to promote and celebrate your taste test activities. Available in English and Spanish
- Multicultural Collection of Farm to ECE Books The Food Trust’s multicultural book collection of books featuring underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, including many bilingual and Spanish books
- Growing Minds Farm to School Bookshelf hundreds of books related to Farm to school that can be read during story time
- Taste Test Guide Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s comprehensive guide to performing taste test activities
- Growing Minds Recipes Recipes with seasonal ingredients and some lesson plans. Also available in Spanish
