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This factsheet is a guide to introducing children to common garden insects in an early childcare setting. It includes age-appropriate activities for childcare providers to engage young children in identifying garden insects at all life stages.
Strawberries are the perfect fruit for early childcare centers. Their life cycle is short (planted in September and harvested in April) so children can plant, watch the flowers bloom, observe pollinators in action, watch the fruit develop, and enjoy the delicious, nutritious result of their newly acquired gardening skills. Many children are familiar with strawberries and eager to eat the fruit. Easy to grow, they have very few pests or diseases to challenge inexperienced gardeners.
This resource guide explores how Early Care and Education programs serve families and show potential collaborations for Extension agents; inspires new local collaboration by highlighting successful programs within communities; and encourages cross-program activities to increase program support from Extension across North Carolina.
This chapter of the Farm to Early Care and Education Resource Guide for North Carolina Extension Agents discusses special considerations for early childhood gardening, cooking, and local food programs and provides resources for successful Farm to ECE initiatives.
While children are having fun growing, harvesting, and eating delicious, nutritious, fresh fruits and vegetables they also become stewards of the environment and develop healthy life skills. Muscadine grapes, a native North Carolina treasure, are easy to grow and bursting with flavor and nutrients. This publication provides information on how to grow muscadines in childcare center production gardens.
This publication focuses on managing weeds in the Outdoor Learning Environment (OLE) of childcare centers. Included are general strategies to help childcare centers identify and manage weeds in childcare center production gardens.
Early childhood educators can easily engage children in growing, harvesting, and preparing tree fruits that provide numerous opportunities for hands-on learning. Fruit trees add year-round value to childcare outdoor learning environments and provide opportunities for children to follow seasonal changes. In addition, fruit trees help to increase the natural diversity of the spaces and provide pockets of shade. While growing fruit trees can be a very rewarding process, proper planning, preparation, and care of the trees takes time and is essential for success.
This chapter of the Farm to Early Care and Education Resource Guide for North Carolina Extension Agents discusses potential partner organizations.
This publication focuses on easy-to-grow, child-friendly, fruits suitable for childcare center gardening. It provides information about what, how, and when to plant. This is part of the Local Foods: Childcare Center Production Gardens series.
This chapter of the Farm to Early Care and Education Resource Guide for North Carolina Extension Agents discusses how to ensure Farm to ECE programs are welcoming to all.
In addition to their delicious fruit, blueberries also provide year-round interest in the garden. Bell-shaped white flowers are popular with native bees in the spring, the fruit is beautiful and nutritious in the summer, and the fall leaves are gorgeous. Best of all, blueberries are relatively easy to grow.
This chapter of the Farm to Early Care and Education Resource Guide for North Carolina Extension Agents discusses the roles and benefits of farm to ECE programs.
