Resources
Classroom Curriculum
These resources, developed by The Policy Equity Group, align farm to ECE strategies with one of the most widely used ECE curricula—The Creative Curriculum®.
Downloadable Resource Documents:
Farm to Child Care Curriculum Package – Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy
Activity ideas, lesson planning chards, and other resources for implementing Farm to Childcare at your center. Many of these resources are ready to use, while some are examples that offer opportunities for you to customize to your own context.
Reach for the Stars Curriculum
Aligns Farm to ECE activities with ECERS.
Reach for the Stars Curriculum – Second Edition
Aligns Farm to ECE activities with ECERS.
Wake County Farm to Child Care Toolkit
This toolkit is designed to assist child care center and family child care home directors and staff to take the concept of Farm to Child Care and put it into action. Resources included here will help directors, cooks and teachers implement Farm to Child Care.
Food and Ag Resource Guide (Pre K – 3rd grade)
A curated list of Food and Agriculture resources for specific age groups, aligned to the Pillars of Agricultural Literacy.
Nutrition & Cooking with Children
FCCH – Garden-themed Nutrition Education Kit
Education kit designed to help Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) operators provide garden-based nutrition education for children ages 3 through 5 years old in family child care settings. Through the activities children touch, smell, feel, and taste new fruits and vegetables. Planting activities also help children connect the delicious food choices at the table with the farm, orchard, or garden.
Recipes that highlight local, seasonal ingredients and are perfect for making memorable meals and snacks both at home and in the classroom.
Knife Skills 101: Chef Ann Butler Teaches Kids to Properly Use a Knife
YouTube Video from House of Knives about teaching kids to use knives safely.
Cooking Matters Training for Child Care Professionals
This module introduces many hands-on activities to help improve skills in planning and preparing meals for children.
Color Me Healthy teaches four- and five-year-olds about healthy eating and exercise. The Kit includes a Teacher’s guide, picture card sets, posters, a music CD, parent newsletters, and much more.
Grow It, Try It, Like It – USDA Center
A garden-themed nutrition education kit for child care center staff that introduces children to: three fruits – peaches, strawberries, and cantaloupe, and three vegetables – spinach, sweet potatoes, and crookneck squash.
Educational Tools from Cooking Matters
Free educational tools for public use that built on the proven success of Cooking Matters’ signature cooking courses and grocery store tours
Early Sprouts is a research-based nutrition curriculum that encourages preschoolers to eat more vegetables by growing, harvesting, and preparing organically grown foods.
Click on the link below to find the items that will facilitate classroom taste testing and cooking with locally grown produce.
Monthly elements, including Educator Newsletters, Family Newsletters, Community Newsletters, and Menu Slicks for produce items Nutrition and agriculture education curriculum.
Gardening with Children
JuniorMaster Gardener Guides (JMG)
The Junior Master Gardener program engages children in hands-on group and individual learning experiences that promote a love of gardening, develop an appreciation for the environment, and cultivate the mind.
American Heart Association and Whole Kids Foundation’s School Garden Lesson Plans
Lesson plans and additional resources to engage students in a fun and educational exploration of fruits, vegetables and healthy eating.
Resources to help teachers, volunteers and parents plan successful youth gardens and implement effective youth garden programs.
Creating Childcare Center Production Gardens
This publication focuses on developing fruit and vegetable production gardens in the Outdoor Learning Environment (OLE) of childcare centers. Included are basic garden design and layout to help childcare centers get started in year-round gardening activities.
Growing and Cooking Fruits and Vegetables at Childcare Centers
Growing Warm-Season Fruits and Vegetables in Childcare Production Gardens
Growing Cool-Season Vegetables in Childcare Production Gardens
These publications summarize the benefits of fruit and vegetable gardening with children. They include age-appropriate activities for childcare providers to engage young children in using fresh produce from a production garden for cooking and eating.
Snacking and Cooking with Warm-Season Produce from Childcare Production Gardens
Snacking and Cooking With Cool-Season Produce From Childcare Production Gardens
These publications include simple recipes that childcare center cooks and educators can use to engage children in snacking and cooking with fresh warm-season and cold-season fruits and vegetables from on-site production gardens and elsewhere.
Composting in Childcare Center Gardens
This publication is a how-to guide for starting a garden-related standard compost bin in a childcare center Outdoor Learning Environment (OLE). Included is guidance on design, construction, and management of compost bins as well as curriculum connections.
Local Food Purchasing
Farm to Early Care and Education Local Food Purchasing Guide
This guide provides information that childcare centers and technical assistance providers can use to understand where to find local food, what to expect, and how to decide which local food source is right for different centers.
Michigan State Center for Regional Food Systems
Michigan Farm to School is part of the National Farm to School Network and is a founding partner in the Michigan Junior Chef Competition.
NC Fresh Produce Purchasing and Prep Guides – Tools for Childcare Providers
The goal of these tools is to help caregivers serve more fresh vegetables and fruits, increase children’s vegetable and fruit consumption, highlight seasonal, locally grown produce, and prevent food waste.
Click here to access the toolkit.
Serving Local Foods in NC Child Care Centers – Guidance on Food Preparation and Gardening
This document addresses frequently asked questions about preparing – and growing- local produce at child care facilities, with specific Child Care Sanitation Rules cited.
Click here to download the resource.
Local Food Decision Tree
Use this flowchart infographic to decide what local food procurement path works best for you.
Download a template for a Farmers Market Scavenger Hunt developed by Carrboro Farmers Market.
General Resources
NC Cooperative Extension Farm to Childcare
An extensive overview of Farm to Early Childcare resources in North Carolina and across the country.
ASAP Farm to Preschool Toolkit
The toolkit contains Growing Minds Pre-K lesson plans, activity guides, and weekly newsletters.It also includes Reach for the Stars with Farm to Preschool: Aligning Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) with Farm to Preschool, sourcing guidance, and tips for cooking with young children.
Free activity, book, and curriculum ideas for preschools and childcare centers.
Farm to Early Care and Education Resource Guide for North Carolina Extension Agents
This guide is a road map for Extension Agents across program areas to better serve the child care community. It includes a snapshot of child care in NC, where agents can plug into Farm to ECE, and features several Cooperative Extension success stories.
Farm to Early Care and Education Flyer
Farm to Early Care and Education (Farm to ECE) enhances the health and education of young children by developing systems and experiential learning that connect children and their families with local food and farms. It includes any type of activities in ECE environments that incorporate local food through meals and snacks, taste tests, lessons, farmer visits, and cooking, growing food, and/or community and parent involvement.
Download this flyer for an easy summary of what makes Farm to Early Care and Education so important!