Farm to School Science Lessons

Sara Lockie on October 31, 2023

We are often asked, “How do we bring Farm to School teaching into our classrooms?” There are barriers. Time is short. Teachers are stretched. There is no “free time” in the day to add something extra.

Fortunately, Farm to School is not an extra. There are countless ways to integrate it into the existing framework. We know student learning increases when activities are hands-on, engaging, and meaningful. Farm to School activities do this.

Working with Waukee Community School District, we developed science lessons that meet the curriculum goals of the Iowa Academic Standards through Farm to School activities. Each grade level folder contains lessons and supplemental materials including:

  • Hands-on science lessons
  • Instructions for growing food in the classroom
  • Lessons for academic learning in the garden
  • Book lists
  • Cross-curricular connections
  • Taste-testing guidelines

All lessons are aligned to Next Generation Science Standards, as well as the Waukee School District’s progress report statements. Material lists, learning goals, actions steps, reflection questions, hand-outs, and seasonal recommendations are included.

We invite you to access the materials, try them out in your classroom, and let us know what you think. What worked well for you? What suggestions do you have?

Farm to School Lessons
Kindergarten Lessons
1st grade
2nd grade
3rd grade
4th grade
5th grade

We are proud of our work and thankful to partner with Waukee Schools, a Farm to School leader.

Drawing of how carrots grow
Bean plants in a clear cup. Roots can be viewed through the cup.
Seedlings started indoors
Sweet potato slips
Asparagus eater
Green onions grown in a cup of water
June with a tiny ear of corn

Day of the Girl

Sara Lockie on October 12, 2023

October 11 is International Day of the Girl. This is an opportunity to celebrate the power of girls, discuss the challenges girls face worldwide, and take action to advance the rights of girls everywhere. The statistics are staggering:

  • Worldwide, 4 out of 10 girls are not completing secondary school.
  • About 90% of adolescent girls and young women do not use the internet, while their male peers are twice as likely to be online.
  • More than 100 million girls are at risk of child marriage in the next decade. Source: UN

International Day of the Girl Child has its roots in the 1995 World Conference on Women in Beijing when girls’ rights were specifically called out. In 2011 the United Nations General Assembly declared October 11 International Day of the Girl Child. This complements the annual International Women’s Day on March 8, which started in 1975.

I would like to recommend two insightful activities that prompt discussion for both students and adults:

June and Juliet climbing on low branch
Tasting veggies at the Botanical Center
Making a sediment jar

Adolescent girls have the right to a safe, educated, and healthy life. Together we can bring about change in our community. We need to learn our history and choose leaders who will invest in change globally.

Nature Study

Sara Lockie on August 30, 2023

I heard grumbling on the short walk to the restored prairie.

“Why do we have to do this?”

“I don’t like to draw.”

“Plants are boring.”

I did not respond but wondered if the prairie and I could win them over.

The setting was the lovely Twin Ponds Nature Center near Ionia, Iowa. Twenty Girl Scouts 9-12 years old were camping for the weekend. I had been asked to lead an aftrenoon nature study of prairie plants and their changes through the seasons.

It was the after-lunch slump, 90 degrees, and humid. My hopes were not high. Yet I find tallgrass prairie fascinating, so I kept walking.

I encouraged the girls to sit in the shade on grass next to the towering plants. For the next 10 minutes, we talked prairie plants. They formed cups with their hands to mimic cup plant leaves. They used their hands to estimate the depth of big bluestem roots. (All guesses were all too short; big blue roots can be 10 feet deep!) They gathered around cup flowers and examined the pollen. They noticed a few cone flowers that had already lost their petals. Even though it was hot and after lunch, the prairie captivated the girls’ attention.

The conversation shifted to seasonal changes over time. The girls spread out to sketch various flowers and predictions of their winter changes. It was not breaktime for me, though.

“Miss Sara, look at this flower!”

“I found a cool bug!”

“Until I started drawing, I didn’t notice that the petals have two shades of yellow.”

“What do you think these berries are?”

“Noooo, I don’t want to be done!”

These girls were filled with wonder as they observed restored prairies. Despite the heat, they asked engaging questions as they made observations. To my surprise, the biggest grumblers at the start became the biggest defenders of the prairie.

Fresh Peaches

Sara Lockie on August 3, 2023

Today a friend showed me her peach tree and told me to help myself. She plans to harvest all of the peaches this weekend and will have more than enough. Immediately, I started planning juicy peach slices for lunch followed by an afternoon of making pie. The peaches are currently ripening in a paper bag.

My own garden is bursting with delicious food. I so enjoy watching and waiting for the tiny seeds to turn into sprawling plants, full of tasty, nutrient-dense food for my family.

As a kid, I wasn’t a fan of tomatoes. I converted to a tomato connoisseur a few years ago after tasting garden-ripe tomatoes. It’s hard to believe I lived most of my life without realizing such tasty tomatoes existed. I continue to avoid bland grocery store tomatoes all winter and wait for my garden in the summer.

Home gardens are not the only way to access delicious fresh produce. A few weeks ago I attended the Iowa Food System Conference. Iowa has incredible soil, farmers, and communities, yet the vast majority of our food is imported. A better way is possible.

It has been a pleasure do this work with the Iowa Farm to School Coalition and local districts like Waukee Schools and Des Moines Schools. School gardens, food education, and institutional buying of local foods are all moving us in the right direction.

This is hopeful work. Get involved.

Wear Orange

Sara Lockie on June 2, 2023

Today I’m wearing orange. My kids are, too. 

The first Friday in June is National Gun Violence Awareness Day. The weekend has been designated as Wear Orange Weekend. Atttend an event around the country, including here in Iowa.

Ten years ago—and less than a week after performing at President Obama’s second inauguration— 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed on a playground in Chicago. Soon after this tragedy, Hadiya’s childhood friends decided to commemorate her life by wearing orange, the color hunters wear in the woods to protect themselves and others. Wear Orange originated on June 2, 2015—what would have been Hadiya’s 18th birthday. 

The color orange has a long and proud history in the gun safety movement. Whether worn by hunters in cornfields, activists at the statehouse in Des Moines, or Hadiya’s loved ones in Chicago, orange honors the more than 120 lives cut short and the hundreds more wounded by gun violence every day —and it demands action.

We Wear Orange to demand a future free from gun violence. Orange symbolizes the value of each person’s life and we wear it to honor those killed, wounded or impacted by gun violence, and to call for an end to this crisis.

7 things to know about Public Measure 1

Sara Lockie on November 5, 2022

This amendment would make it harder for law enforcement to do their job. Public health, gun violence prevention, domestic violence intervention and religious groups are encouraging Iowans to vote NO.

Iowa Farm to School Conference

Sara Lockie on August 25, 2022

We came together in search of a common goal–feeding our children fresh, healthy food. And we believe that goal can best be accomplished by promoting farm-school partnerships.