Our Classroom Garden

School:: Dune Lakes Elementary School
Subject:: STEM Education
Teacher:: Jessica Pfennig
Students Impacted:: 20
Grade:: K
Date:: September 19, 2023

Investor

Thank you to the following investor for funding this grant.

The St. Joe Community Foundation - $930.82

Impact to My Classroom

# of Students Impacted: 17

My students were able to experience educational opportunities to make healthy choices with our hydroponics garden. With our Hands-on learning garden, we discussed what vegetabes we have tried and like, and what vegetables we have not tried, and then planted them in our hydroponic garden. We harvested kale, butter lettuce, mini peppers and tomatoes, and parsley. We were able to make salads with our lettuce and vegetables, and write and draw our daily observations on our vegetables. Thank you so mch for allowing me to create a hands-on, innovative learning experience for my class.

grant photo

Original Grant Overview

Goal

My goal for my class is to create impactful educational opportunities that engage my students with their natural world and enable them to make healthy choices. With the Hands-on learning garden like the Lettuce Grow Farmstand, we can use these powerful tools to spark curiosity, improve childhood nutrition and create life-long healthy eating habits. When students have a hand in growing fruits and vegetables, they are more likely to try them, enjoy them and inspire other kids to do the same. Additionally, kids who grow up enjoying fruits and vegetables are more likely to continue eating them through adulthood.

What will be done with my students

My students will be able to pick and choose which fruits and vegetables they will want to plant and harvest. With Lettuce grow, my students will have access to fresh, healthy foods for my students to try. Through daily observation and journaling, we will be able to identify parts of each plant, learn the life cycle of each plant, make daily observations and see how quickly things change. My students will also be able to observe how different amounts of sunlight affect the plants, and of course be able to try all the new fruits and vegetables that are planted in our hydroponics garden.

Benefits to my students

Our hydroponics garden will increase my student's academic performance and behavior at school while improving their attitudes and appreciation for the environment. Our class will be able to try new fruits and vegetables which will provide extra vitamins, such as vitamin C and folic acid into their diet. The lettuce grow stand with the lights, seedlings, and other supplies will be able to benefit not just our class but our school by supplementing students' meals and snacks, and by providing a long-term education on growing plants from seedlings. Our class will love putting their “detective caps” on and learning about how a plant grows, what influences a plant’s growth, and what hands-on activities they can do to interact with the growing plants. I want to help foster my students’ curiosity in this way by providing them with our hands' on innovative learning experience.

Budget Narrative

The funds from this project will be used to purchase an 18-plant hydroponics garden growing system, the 3-glow ring light for indoor growing and seedlings that will be grown in the hydroponics system. This project will benefit 20 Kindergarten students. The seedlings will include different fruits and vegetables for students to grow and then enjoy once harvested. This project will create a hand on, innovative learning experience for all student.

Items

#	Item	Cost
1	18 plant Lettuces Grow Farm stand	$474.00
2	3 ring Glow Rings (for indoor growing)	$325.00
3	Seedlings Grow Pack	$71.82
4	Estimated Taxes	$60.00
	Total:	$930.82

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