I Am a Seed

The I Am a Seed: A Seed to Table Experiential Journey for Preschoolers (I Am a Seed) program is designed for Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) children ages 4 to five years. The curriculum was developed to provide hands-on experience for young children using the garden as a tool to influence fruit and vegetable consumption and overall preference for healthy foods. The comprehensive garden-based, nutrition education curriculum integrates five concepts: gardening, nutrition, food systems, food preparation, and yoga movements. The program can be taught with large, medium-scale or minimal outdoor garden spaces which feature on-site food gardens for growing fruits and vegetables and provide education focused on nutrition, kitchen and food prep skills, food systems, and physical activity. Children gain an educational experience while spending structured time planting, growing, harvesting, tasting, and preparing snacks from fresh fruits and vegetables they grow and harvest themselves. Developed in partnership with Indigenous colleagues from Arizona, a unique physical activity component highlights Native American culture and plant "yoga-like" techniques to assist children with relaxation activities that help with emotional self-regulation while focusing on the plants, earth, sun, soil, and rain. While the I Am a Seed program targets 4-5-year old's, it can be used with three-year old's especially in mixed-age preschool classrooms. It is important, however, to remember that younger preschoolers generally have a more difficult time understanding some of the concepts and may not acquire all of the skills, however, they will benefit from exposure to the concepts and skills. The curriculum can also be used successfully with kindergarten children, since many are still 5 years old. Additionally, the music and movement from the I Am a Seed are appropriate for use with older children (ages 6 and up). The project responds to a demonstrated need across federally-funded, low-income early childhood education programs which are generally either nutrition-focused, garden-focused (STEM) or physical activity-based. This curriculum weaves all three components into one curriculum, including the addition of food systems and food preparation. While garden-based nutrition education programs often feel overwhelming and intimidating to employ in local early childhood settings, providers of I Am a Seed can confidently implement this program in their early childhood settings with minimal materials and space. I Am a Seed reflects early care and education standards alignment, healthy eating policies, and family and community engagement to help preschool children meet state standards that describe appropriate outcomes for children to achieve by the time they enter kindergarten. Specifically, Nevada's Pre-K standards https://doe.nv.gov/offices/office-of-teaching-and-learning/pre-k-standards (the state in which the program originated) are comparable to standards developed in other states (Lindsay, 2022). The Pre-K standards are designed as guidelines for teachers to use in the development of learning experiences and focus on early language and literacy, math, science, social studies/social emotional development, creative arts and physical development/health.