“For children, there's a sensory experience involved with cooking—they really get a lot of joy out of smelling different ingredients, or feeling the way a mushroom or a potato feels when they cut. Then they get to enjoy eating it and feel pride in making something delicious.”

– Jackie Reno, Program Director, The Janet S. Munt Family Room, Burlington, VT

 

New Resources for Early Educators

We’re excited to share a three-part video series highlighting some of our favorite farm to early childhood (FTEC) classroom activities inspired by Shelburne Farms’ Cultivating Joy & Wonder. Hosted by Shelburne Farms Educators Jed Norris and Hannah Corbin, these how-to videos explore outdoor, place-based learning; cooking with kids; and extending children’s knowledge of agriculture and the food they eat.

Following each activity, hear from fellow Vermont early educators Laura Butler, Jackie Reno, and Chong Ho Kim about why they appreciate farm to early childhood approaches, and how these activities can easily integrate into your program. “Everybody likes to play in the dirt — it's just fun,” shares Laura Butler, Owner of Imagination Island Family Child Care. “The kids plant things as little seeds, watch them grow, and learn how to care for them. It's all about them learning how to grow their own food and how to sustain themselves as they grow older.”

  • Butter Making & Compound Butters

    Watch how to dive into butter making with your early learners! Discover the physical phases and properties cream goes through to become butter and sing while you work. Extend the learning by harvesting garden herbs and exploring spices to make compound butters to top on bread or crackers for a delicious snack.

    Watch the video

    A child smiles as she shakes a jar of cream, turning it to butter.
    #309670

  • Dress Up a Plant & Quick Pickles

    Do you know the bean plant’s super power? We’re sharing an interactive game to teach young learners about a plant’s parts, what function each plays, and how a bean goes from seed to fruit. Follow up this garden exploration with a quick pickle activity to extend the shelf life of the garden harvest and introduce new flavors and spices to vegetables.

    Watch the video

    A young boy dresses up as a pea plant.
    #f3edd4

  • Making Flatbread & Herb Spread

    Whether you're indoors in a kitchen or in an outdoor classroom with a fire pit, you can make bread from scratch with kids of any age! Watch on for a flatbread recipe tutorial on making flatbreads and herby spreads inspired by the garden. While the dough is rising, head to the garden and gather herbs to make a delicious spread. Then try cooking your flatbreads in an outdoor setting over a campfire for added flare and flavor!

    Watch the video

    A child pulls the cord on a manual food chopper.
    #309670

  • Farm to Early Childhood: Growing an Appreciation for Food Systems

    Early education is the ideal setting to get kids excited about their food, where it comes from, and who makes it. “Young children are naturally curious and hands-on exploration is how they make sense of their world.  Given that relationships are central in children’s development, early childhood programs offer those trusted connections for exploring the natural world, food systems, and community connections,” explains Cynthia Greene, Shelburne Farms FTEC Education Partnership Coordinator.

    And if children are learning about and being fed nutritious foods at their early education setting, it makes a difference. Ninety percent of the brain is developed by age five, and healthy food is vital to healthy brain development in young children. “Rather than teaching students about tomatoes for the first time at age seven, if you introduce these foods at age two, that child’s relationship with healthy eating has four plus years of exposure and depth to it once they enter kindergarten,” Educator Jed Norris shares. “And in the scope of our lives, we change more from birth to the age of five than any other time. An early introduction to FTEC can influence a lifetime of healthy eating habits.”

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    A special thank you to Vermont early educators Jackie Reno and Chong Ho Kim of The Janet S. Munt Family Room (Burlington, VT) and Laura Butler of Imagination Island (Milton, VT) for lending their perspectives and farm to early childhood wisdom.

    This video series is a project of the Vermont Farm to Early Childhood Coalition, an Action Team of the Vermont Farm to School & Early Childhood Network. The project was supported by the Association of State Public Health Nutritionists through the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.  

    The Association of State Public Health Nutritionists' Farm to ECE grantee programs are supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States (U.S.) Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as one of several projects funded by cooperative agreement number NU38OT000279 (total of $6,320,000). This resource was supported by ASPHN's Farm to ECE grantee program, which is funded by the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity (DNPAO)/ National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP)/CDC/HHS. The contents of this resource are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by DNPAO/NCCDPHP/CDC/HHS, or the U.S. government.