From the Garden to the Table: Growing Lettuce and Making Our Own Salad
November is a great time to get our little ones involved in gardening. Just because the weather is getting cooler does not mean our gardens have to stop growing. Here in Alabama, we can still grow some wonderful vegetables during the fall months, and lettuce is one of my favorites to introduce to young children.
Fall on the Farm: Little Hands, Big Learning
October is one of my favorite times to introduce young learners to agriculture. The weather begins to cool, the colors around us start to change, and there are so many opportunities to bring the farm into the classroom.
September Farm to ECE: From Summer Heat to Fall Harvest
September is one of my favorite times to work with children around food and farming because we get to experience a little bit of two seasons at the same time. Here in Alabama, September may be on the calendar saying fall is coming, but our gardens are often still saying SUMMER!
Growing Curiosity with Farm to ECE at Village Group Home Daycare
At Village Group Home Daycare, we believe that some of the best learning happens outdoors. One of our favorite activities is spending time in our garden, where children discover how plants grow and why gardens are so important.
Growing Together: The 2026 Alabama Farm to ECE Summit
With support from the CDC-funded Healthy Kids, Healthy Future Technical Assistance Program, led by Nemours Children’s Health, in partnership with the Association of State Public Health Nutritionists, Alabama Healthy Kids, Healthy Future hosted the first Alabama Farm to ECE Summit.
A Day of Planting, Learning, and Growing Together – Gainesville Head Start
With April being National Garden Month, there is no better time to get children outside, let them explore, and show them where food really comes from. Not a store, but the ground, through care, patience, and purpose.
Growing Little Hands and Big Futures in Greene County
On Monday, March 30, 2026, Boots on the Farm had the pleasure of visiting Greene County Head Start, where we worked alongside Pre K students, ages 4, to plant raised bed gardens as part of our Farm to ECE efforts.
Taste of the Farm: Livingston Early Head Start Center
This week, through Farm to ECE, I had the opportunity to bring Taste of the Farm to the Livingston
Early Head Start Center in Livingston, Alabama. Serving children ages birth to three, this visit was a powerful reminder that agricultural education begins earlier than many people realize.
December in the Early Childhood Program: Learning From a Resting Garden
December invites a gentle shift in the rhythm of early childhood classrooms. The air becomes cooler, the daylight fades earlier, and many outdoor gardens begin their winter rest. Yet even as the soil quiets, children’s natural curiosity remains wide awake. Farm to Early Care and Education (Farm to ECE) continues during the winter months, it simply takes on a new, more reflective form.
Harvesting Thankfulness in the Classroom Garden
In our Farm-to-ECE work, we often focus on planting and harvesting, but this month I’d like to pause and celebrate thankfulness in the garden. Even with our youngest learners, infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, the lesson of gratitude can be taught through simple experiences: touching soil, watering a plant, or feeding a worm to the compost pile.
