A Reggio-Inspired Garden Preschool: Arizona to North Dakota

The Garden as Third Teacher: A Reggio-Inspired Garden Preschool, from Arizona to North Dakota

The Garden Preschool Homeschool Primer PRESENTATION SLIDES

This podcast and article serves as a comprehensive blueprint for establishing and operating a raised-bed garden preschool tailored for children aged two to five. It integrates the educational philosophies of Froebel, Montessori, and Reggio Emilia into a structured, year-round curriculum focused on real work, sensory exploration, and nature. The guide details physical specifications for child-scaled garden beds, essential tools, safety rules, and climate-specific planting zones ranging from arid deserts to cold northern regions. Furthermore, it outlines a thirty-six-week lesson plan spanning preparation, sowing, tending, and harvesting, alongside methods for home-based micro-schools and observational child assessment.

A Reading Sage field guide for teachers and parents building raised-bed and micro garden preschools for ages 2–5.

When I lived in Uppsala, Sweden, I visited a preschool that was a forest school, a garden school, and a Reggio Emilia school all at once. That visit is the lens for this guide. It is a complete, zone-by-zone plan for a garden preschool, built the way that school taught me to see children: capable, curious, and fully able to do real work.

What I saw in Uppsala

Uppsala is the town where Carl Linnaeus taught botany and kept his famous garden, so it may be no accident that its children grow up beside plants. Sweden also has a long outdoor-preschool tradition. The I Ur och Skur movement (roughly, rain or shine) puts children outside every day in every kind of weather, and the right of public access lets families and schools roam forests and fields freely.

The school I visited blended that forest-and-garden culture with the Reggio Emilia approach.

Three ideas hold this guide together. Each is easy to see in a forest-garden Reggio school and easy to carry into a backyard in Tucson or a schoolyard in Fargo:

1. The child is capable. Reggio's image of the child is rich, strong, and competent. In a garden that means real trowels, real water, real harvest.
2. The environment teaches. The garden is the third teacher, after adults and other children. How you arrange it is how you teach.
3. Children's work is evidence. What children say, draw, and build is recorded and shown, so the adults can learn from it and plan the next step.

Reggio Principles in the Garden

Every Reggio idea has a garden form. Use this table to design the space and to plan each lesson.

Reggio idea	In the garden
The hundred languages	Children show what they know through soil, paint, clay, drawing, movement, song, counting, and cooking, not words alone
The environment as third teacher	Beds at child scale, tools on a shadow board, a water station, a seed library, places to sit and look
The atelier	An outdoor art corner with clipboards, clay, watercolors, and loose parts such as sticks, stones, and seed pods
Provocation	A question or an object placed in the garden to start inquiry: a split pumpkin, a mirror in a bed, a pile of seeds
Long-term projects	One question followed for weeks: Where does the water go? Who visits the flowers? What does a seed need?
Documentation	Photos, children's words, and drawings displayed on a garden wall and kept in a journal
Relationships and listening	Small groups of 3–5 children per adult, and an adult who asks before telling
The adult as researcher	The teacher records, wonders alongside the children, and plans from what they notice

The eight learning domains are the hundred languages, made practical. The garden speaks through science, math, language and literacy, practical life, art and sensory work, nutrition and the kitchen, social-emotional growth, and movement. Every lesson in this guide names the languages it uses, so nothing is left out and no lesson repeats another.

Build the Garden as the Third Teacher

A prepared garden invites children in. Keep it small, beautiful, and child-scaled, and keep every tool within reach.

Site: 6 or more hours of direct sun, a hose or rain barrel within 50 feet, level drained ground, a view from the classroom window, and a windbreak on the northern plains.

Raised bed spec	Recommendation	Why
Width	3 ft	A preschooler reaches about 18 in from each side
Length	6–8 ft	Easy to count and measure in steps
Height	12 in (a few at 18–24 in)	12 in grows carrots; taller beds allow seated or wheelchair access
Paths	3–4 ft of wood chips or gravel	Room for wheelbarrows, strollers, and wheelchairs
Material	Untreated cedar, fir, galvanized steel, or stone	Avoid railroad ties and creosote-treated wood

Soil: about 50–60% good topsoil or garden soil, 30–40% finished compost, and about 10% perlite or coarse sand. Mulch 2–3 in deep, which matters most in desert zones. If you ever garden in the ground in town, test for lead first.

Water: a drip or soaker line on a timer does the dependable work. One-gallon child watering cans do the learning work. Teach one can per bed, water the soil not the leaves, count the pours.

Six starter beds (about 20 children)

1. Salad Bed: lettuce, spinach, radish, nasturtium.
2. Root Bed: carrots, beets, potatoes in a grow bag.
3. Three Sisters Bed: corn, beans, squash, told as a story.
4. Pizza and Salsa Bed: cherry tomatoes, basil, peppers, onions.
5. Pollinator and Sensory Bed: marigold, zinnia, sunflowers, lamb's ear, mint in a pot.
6. Berry Bed: strawberries, the most loved bed.

The ten stations that make it a school

1. Tool shed or shadow board, with every tool's outline painted on the wall
2. Hand-washing station
3. Compost bins and a toddler-height scrap bucket
4. Worm bin
5. Mud kitchen
6. Weather station: wind sock, rain gauge, thermometer
7. Seed library and potting bench at child height
8. The garden atelier: clipboards, clay, watercolors, loose parts, a drying rack for work in progress
9. Bug hotel and pollinator spot
10. Sunflower house or bean teepee, a living hideout

Dress for the garden. The Scandinavian saying is that there is no bad weather, only bad clothing. Keep hats, rain gear, and boots for each child so a drizzle or a cold morning is a reason to go out, not in.

Safety. Do not plant foxglove, oleander, castor bean, lily of the valley, or sweet pea (the flower). Treat daffodil and tulip bulbs as look and smell only. Use no chemical pesticides or herbicides. The tasting rule is ask first, then taste. Check food and bee-sting allergies before day one, carry tools pointing down, wash hands after soil and before eating, and teach look, don't squish for insects. In the desert, work in the morning and bring water.

Know Your Zone

A USDA hardiness zone tells you the average coldest winter temperature. For planting, the two dates that matter most are your last spring frost and first fall frost. The dates below are typical ranges only. Confirm yours with your county Cooperative Extension office, and check your current zone by ZIP code, since the USDA map was updated in 2023.

Band	Zones	Example places	Last spring frost	First fall frost	Character
A	9–10	Tucson, Phoenix, Yuma	Feb–early Mar, or rare	Late Nov–Dec	Winter is the main garden, summer is the hot rest
B	7–8	Prescott, Sierra Vista, Albuquerque, Oklahoma	Late Mar–mid Apr	Late Oct–Nov	Long spring and fall, hot summer
C	5–6	Colorado Front Range, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa	Late Apr–mid May	Early–mid Oct	Classic four seasons
D	4	Southern North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, high-elevation Arizona such as Flagstaff	Mid–late May	Mid–late Sept	Short season, choose quick crops
E	3–4	Northern and eastern North Dakota, northern Montana	Late May–early June	Early–mid Sept	Very short season, long summer days

What to plant, by band. The best preschool crops everywhere are radish (ready in 25–30 days), lettuce, peas, bush beans, sunflowers, cherry tomatoes, strawberries, carrots, pumpkins, and herbs.

Band	Cool crops (sow)	Warm crops (after last frost)	Fall
A (9–10)	Oct–Feb: radish, lettuce, spinach, kale, carrots, beets, peas, broccoli, bok choy, cilantro, fava, strawberries; garlic and onions Oct–Nov	Feb–Apr: bush beans, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, sunflowers, zinnias, basil, chiles	Summer heat lovers with 30–40% shade cloth: tepary beans, black-eyed peas, okra, Armenian cucumber, sweet potato slips; July monsoon sowing of beans and squash
B (7–8)	Mar–Apr: peas, radish, lettuce, spinach, kale, onion sets, potatoes, carrots	Mid-Apr–June: bush beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, corn, sunflowers, pumpkins, basil, marigolds	Sept lettuce, spinach, radish; garlic in October
C (5–6)	Late Mar–Apr: peas, radish, lettuce, spinach, potatoes, onion sets	Early–mid May: bush beans, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, sunflowers, corn, cherry tomatoes, zinnia, marigold	Late Aug radish and spinach; garlic mid-October
D (4)	Late Apr–early May: peas, radish, lettuce, spinach, potatoes, carrots	Mid–late May: bush beans, pickling cucumbers, zucchini, sunflowers, short-season cherry tomatoes (55–65 days), small pumpkins started indoors	Row cover for late crops; garlic mid-October
E (3–4)	April, as soon as soil thaws: peas, radish, spinach, lettuce, potatoes	Late May–early June: bush beans, carrots, beets, kale, sunflowers, tomatoes started indoors mid-April, small pumpkins started mid-May	Harvest before first frost; garlic in October

Local stories to plant.

• Arizona and the Southwest: the desert has some of North America's oldest farming traditions. Tepary beans, Hopi blue corn, and O'odham and Pueblo agriculture are living stories, not history alone. Invite a local tribal educator or elder where you can, and let children grow the Three Sisters.
• North Dakota: the state is one of the nation's leading sunflower growers and a wheat state. Plant a Sunflower Bed and a Bread Bed: sow a small patch of spring wheat in April, harvest in August, thresh by hand, grind, and bake.
• High-elevation Arizona behaves like Band D, not the desert. Expect a late-May to early-June last frost.
• In cold zones, use hoop tunnels, cold frames, Wall-o-Water covers, black mulch to warm soil, and snow fence or a hedge for wind. Read days-to-maturity on every packet. That is the math lesson.

Alaska, a side note. Alaska is three gardens. Southcentral (Anchorage, Palmer) has roughly a 100–120 day season and June days of 19 or more hours of light, and cabbage, kale, broccoli, peas, radish, lettuce, potatoes, and carrots thrive; the giant-vegetable culture of the state fair is a gift for a measuring lesson. Interior (Fairbanks) has intense, brief summers, so start seedlings indoors and use high tunnels for warm crops. Southeast (Juneau, Ketchikan) is mild and wet, so drainage and slugs are the challenge. Children can track daylight hours all year, and winter becomes the indoor garden season. Contact UAF Cooperative Extension for local calendars.

The school-year gap in cold zones. In Bands D and E the best growing months fall in summer, when school is out. Combine three answers: run an indoor winter garden, teach the Prepare lessons indoors in winter and sow in May, and hold a short summer camp and a September harvest festival.

The Garden Year: Four Movements, Twelve Provocations

The year has four movements: Prepare, Sow, Tend, Harvest and Rest. Only the calendar changes by zone. Each of the 12 units opens with a provocation, an object or question left in the garden for children to meet. The three lessons that follow grow from what the children notice, which is the Reggio way of letting a curriculum emerge inside a plan. That makes 36 lessons, one per week.

Movement	Unit	Provocation	Three lessons
Prepare	1. Meet the Garden	An open gate. What does this place want us to do?	Garden Gates and Rules; Five Senses Walk; Tool Care and the Shadow Board
Prepare	2. Soil Is Alive	A jar of soil and a magnifier. Who lives in here?	Dirt Detectives; Compost Kitchen and Worms; Mud Kitchen and Bed Filling
Prepare	3. Seeds Are Sleeping Babies	A bowl of mixed seeds. What are these?	Seed Sorting Museum; Inside a Seed; Seed Packets and the Garden Plan
Sow	4. Water and Light	A chalk shadow and a watering can. Where does the water go?	Sun and Shade Walk; How Much Water?; Bean in a Bag
Sow	5. Sowing Days	A hole in an empty bed. How deep does a seed sleep?	Big Seeds Day; Tiny Seeds Day; Transplant and Label Day
Sow	6. Roots, Stems, Leaves, Flowers, Fruit	A whole pulled carrot. Which part do we eat?	Eat the Roots and Stems; Leaves, Flowers, and Fruit; Plant Parts Puppet Show
Tend	7. Helpers and Hurters	A mirror in a flower bed. Who visits the flowers?	Bug Hotel and Bug Hunt; Pollinators; Weeds and Wonder
Tend	8. Weather and Seasons	A wind sock. What is the wind doing to the garden?	Weather Station; The Seasons Wheel; Protect the Plants
Tend	9. Grow and Measure	A sunflower and a ribbon. How tall is tall?	Me and the Sunflower; Garden Journals; Count and Graph the Blossoms
Harvest and Rest	10. Harvest and Kitchen	Baskets and a scale. What can we make today?	First Harvest; Salad and Dip Day; Harvest Soup or Garden Pizza
Harvest and Rest	11. Seeds Again	A dried sunflower head. Where did these seeds come from?	Seed Saving; Life Cycle Wheel; Seed Swap
Harvest and Rest	12. Rest and Share	An empty bed. What does the garden need now?	Put the Garden to Bed; The Winter Window; Garden Gift and Celebration

The 40-minute lesson, Reggio style. Keep the same shape every time so children feel safe.

1. Gather and listen (5 min): circle on a log or mat, a greeting song, and one question to hear what children already think.
2. Provocation (5 min): the object or question of the unit, in the hand or in the bed.
3. Hands in soil (20 min): the real work, in groups of 3–5 children per adult.
4. Atelier and documentation (5–10 min): draw, paint, or model what happened, and record the child's words. Wash hands and rinse tools.
5. Close (5 min): thank the garden, sing, and share a garden snack when you have one.

A week at home or school can be as simple as Monday story and provocation, Tuesday hands in soil, Wednesday atelier and journals, Thursday harvest and kitchen, Friday song, mud kitchen, and play.

What to expect by age. Two-year-olds pour, scoop, dig, and smell, and need an adult beside them. Three-year-olds sort by one attribute, count to 5, and own one job. Four- and five-year-olds plant in rows, measure, draw a journal page, label, and help younger children.

The Garden Is a Reading Classroom

The garden gives young children what reading needs most: first-hand knowledge, rich vocabulary, and a reason to put words on things. A child who has pulled a carrot and drawn it understands the word root in a way a flashcard cannot teach.

• Print with purpose. Label beds, tools, and the shadow board. Children write or copy their plant markers on Label Day, and those markers are the first words they read to their parents.
• Dictation as a bridge to writing. In the journal, the child draws and tells, and the adult writes the child's words exactly. Read it back together. This links speech, print, and meaning.
• Read-alouds that match the bed. Pair every unit with one picture book (see the library at the end) and one real object from the garden.
• Sound play. Chant the planting rhyme, clap syllables in to-ma-to, and sort seeds by their first sound.
• Recipes and picture directions. A harvest soup card with pictures teaches left-to-right order and sequence.

Garden vocabulary to teach on purpose

Kind	Words	Where they land
Subject words	seed, root, stem, leaf, flower, fruit, soil, compost, worm, bud, sprout, seedling	Units 2, 3, 6
Process words	germinate, pollinate, transplant, harvest, mulch, water	Units 4, 5, 7, 10
Thinking words	observe, measure, compare, predict, patient, nurture	Units 7, 9, 11

Use the word in the moment, show it, have the child say it, and use it again at the next lesson. Hearing a new word in three different settings is how it stays.

Documentation: The Garden Wall and the Adult as Researcher

In Reggio schools, documentation replaces testing. You watch, record, and display, and the record becomes the next lesson plan.

A documentation panel has four parts: a photo of the child at work, the child's own words, a drawing or piece of the work, and one sentence from the adult about what it shows and what to try next. Post one panel per project on a garden wall or fence, and keep a copy in each child's folder.

Questions that open thinking

• What do you notice?
• What do you think will happen? Why?
• How could we find out?
• What does it remind you of?
• Can you show me with your hands, with clay, or with a drawing?

Ask the question, then wait. Count to ten before you speak. Write down what you hear.

What to watch for, by language

Language	Look for
Science	Names three plant parts, says what a plant needs, notices change
Math	Counts seeds to 10 or more, sorts, compares, uses a measure
Language and literacy	Uses garden words, retells a story, writes or dictates a journal page
Practical life	Uses tools safely, waters, carries, cleans up on their own
Art and sensory	Draws what they see, uses color and texture to show it
Nutrition	Washes, tastes a new food, helps prepare
Social-emotional	Waits, takes turns, cares for a plant, helps another child
Movement	Digs, pours, pinches seeds, pushes the wheelbarrow

Check each child against this table once a term. Where a child has not yet shown a language, plan a provocation that invites it.

Your Home Micro Garden Preschool, the Winter Window, and the First 30 Days

You do not need a school. Use the same provocations and lessons, scaled to your space, for 15–30 minutes a day.

Tier	Space	What to grow
1. Windowsill	One bright window	Microgreens, bean sprouts, herbs, regrown scallions and lettuce stumps, a bean in a bag
2. Balcony or patio	4–6 five-gallon buckets or grow bags	Cherry tomato, lettuce, radish, bush beans, marigold, strawberries, herbs
3. Backyard	One or two 3×6 ft raised beds	The six starter beds above

Pick three crops and master them: radish, lettuce, and a bean or sunflower. Give every container drainage holes and use potting mix, not garden soil. A neighborhood co-op works well, with each family hosting one bed and children rotating weekly.

The winter window (every zone, essential in the north). Keep the garden going indoors with a south window or grow light: shallow trays of microgreens (ready in 7–14 days), lentil and mung bean sprouts (3–5 days, rinsed daily), and pots of herbs. In Alaska and the northern plains this is the garden school from October to March.

Picture books for the garden shelf

• The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
• The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
• Growing Vegetable Soup and Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
• Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner
• Sunflower House by Eve Bunting
• Stone Soup, in any traditional retelling

For songs, use traditional garden songs such as Inch by Inch (The Garden Song), and write short chants of your own for hand-washing, carrying tools, and watering.

Your first 30 days

1. Week 1: choose and observe the site, order or build two beds, and check allergies.
2. Week 2: fill the beds, paint the shadow board, and set up the hand-washing station and the atelier corner.
3. Week 3: begin Units 1 and 2, start a compost bucket, and hang your first documentation panel.
4. Week 4: begin Unit 3, make the garden plan from your band's planting table, and order seeds.

Frost dates and varieties vary, so confirm yours with your county Cooperative Extension office and let your own climate write your calendar. The garden teaches best when the child does the work, tastes the harvest, and shares it. If you build one, tell me what your children noticed first. 

In The Garden Preschool Primer, the curriculum is structured around eight core learning domains that map directly to garden activities and real-world work^[1]:

1. Science ( Sci ): Investigates life cycles, soil, weather, and insects^[1].
2. Math ( Math ): Practices counting seeds, sorting materials, measuring growth, graphing harvests, and recognizing patterns^[1].
3. Language and Literacy ( Lit ): Builds vocabulary, engages with stories, writes or dictates garden journals, and creates plant labels^[1].
4. Practical Life ( Prac ): Develops real-world independence through safe tool use, pouring water, carrying buckets, cleaning up, and caring for beds^[1].
5. Art and Sensory ( Art ): Connects nature with visual expression through observational drawing, painting, nature collages, and exploring raw textures^[1].
6. Nutrition and Kitchen ( Nut ): Introduces healthy culinary habits by washing produce, cutting with child-safe knives, tasting harvests, and cooking together^[1].
7. Social-Emotional ( SEL ): Nurtures character and interpersonal skills like turn-taking, patience while waiting for seeds to sprout, responsibility, and gratitude^[1].
8. Gross and Fine Motor ( Move ): Strengthens physical coordination through heavy work like digging and pushing wheelbarrows, alongside delicate tasks like pinching tiny seeds 

Adapting a garden preschool for desert climates (such as USDA Zones 9–10 in the low desert) requires shifting planting schedules, protecting against evaporation, and modifying outdoor heat routines^[1][2].

1. The "Reverse" Garden Calendar

In desert zones, the traditional garden year runs backward: winter is the primary growing season, while summer is the rest period^[1].

• Cool Season (Sow Oct–Feb): This carries the school year^[3]. October sowings yield active classroom harvests from December through March with crops like radishes, lettuce, spinach, carrots, peas, broccoli, cilantro, and strawberries^[1].
• Warm Season (Sow Feb–Apr): Plant warm-season crops like bush beans, cherry tomatoes, sunflowers, zinnias, and basil immediately following late-winter frost risks^[3].
• Summer & Monsoon (June–Sept): Many programs rest or solarize beds during extreme heat in June and July^[3]. During monsoon moisture in July and August, heat-lovers like tepary beans, black-eyed peas, okra, Armenian cucumbers, and sweet potatoes can be sown^[3].

2. Shade, Mulch, and Water Infrastructure

Desert gardens require specific physical setups to keep soil viable and shield tender plants:

• Heavy Mulching: Top raised beds with 2 to 3 inches of straw or wood-chip mulch to retain soil moisture and reduce surface evaporation^[3][4].
• Shade Cloth: Cover beds with 30–40% shade cloth during late spring, summer, and early autumn^[3]. Children can also participate in plant protection as a science lesson by building "shade hats" or frames for delicate beds^[3][5].
• Drip Irrigation & Child Watering: Use automated drip or soaker lines on timers for baseline deep watering, paired with child-scaled 1-gallon watering cans filled at a central water station for practical work^[1][4].

3. Heat Safety and Outdoor Routines

Adapting forest preschool principles to arid regions means managing sun and heat with the same rigor that Scandinavian schools apply to rain and snow^[2]:

• Morning Scheduling: Schedule all physical outdoor work, digging, and group lessons during early morning hours before heat peaks^[1][2].
• Sun & Hydration Protocols: Establish non-negotiable daily habits around wide-brimmed sun hats, sunscreen, shaded gathering spots, and frequent water breaks^[1][2].
• Arid Loose Parts: Replace damp forest materials with desert-adapted loose parts—sand, river stones, gravel, clay, native seed pods, and shaded mud-kitchen stations^[2].

4. Honoring Native Desert Agriculture

The Southwest has long-standing Indigenous farming traditions that provide rich, living lessons in drought resilience^[3]:

• Drought-Resilient Crops: Plant native seeds like tepary beans and Hopi blue corn to demonstrate how plants adapt to low-water conditions^[3].
• Cultural Context: Incorporate stories and practices from O'odham and Pueblo agricultural systems, inviting local Native educators or elders when possible to share regional heritage^[3].

In The Garden Preschool Primer, the educational philosophy centers on providing preschoolers with real tools to do real work rather than toy play, supported by clear, age-appropriate safety protocols^[1].

1. Child-Scaled Tool Kit

The recommended toolkit for a small group (about four children) includes:

• Digging & Garden Work: Individual child-sized trowels (one per child), 2 hand rakes, 2 small buckets, kneeling pads, gardening gloves, and 1 small wheelbarrow^[2].
• Watering Equipment: 1-gallon (or smaller) watering cans filled at a central water station^[2][3].
• Observation & Harvesting: Magnifiers or hand lenses, child-safe scissors, harvest baskets, clipboards, and crayons^[2][4].
• Kitchen & Food Prep: Plastic-handled butter knives for safely cutting soft harvests during kitchen lessons^[2][5].
• Storage & Organization: A tool shed or shadow board where every tool has an outlined home, making tool cleanup a practical math and matching activity^[4][6].

2. Core Safety Rules & Protocols

• The Golden Tasting Rule: Children follow the strict rule: "We only eat what the teacher says is food." Programs build the daily chant: **"Ask first, then taste"**^[2].
• Toxic Plant Restrictions: Never plant toxic species like foxglove, oleander, castor bean, lily of the valley, or sweet pea flowers^[2]. Bulbs (such as daffodils and tulips) are for looking and smelling only, and tomato leaves and rhubarb leaves are off-limits for eating^[2].
• Tool Handling: Tools must stay low and be carried pointing down, with clear rules to walk in the garden, practice gentle hands, and hang tools back in their shadow board outlines^[2][6].
• No Chemical Pesticides: Chemical herbicides and pesticides are prohibited; pest control relies on hand-picking, compost, and row covers^[2].
• Sun, Heat, & Weather Care: Children wear sun hats and sunscreen, take frequent hydration breaks, and gather in shaded spots^[2][7]. In hot or desert zones, physical outdoor work is scheduled during cool morning hours^[2][7].
• Hygiene & Allergy Management: Check for food and bee-sting allergies before starting, keep emergency plans current, and ensure children wash hands after soil contact and before eating^[2].
• Insect Protocol: Teach a "look, don't squish" policy, helping children observe insects gently while leaving bees and wasps alone^[2][8].
• Clean Soil Standard: If planting in ground within town or city limits, test soil for lead first; using tested imported soil in raised beds is recommended as the safest approach^[4].

In The Garden Preschool Primer, the four phases of the garden year form the foundational seasonal structure for the curriculum^[1]. While the specific calendar months shift depending on your climate zone, these four universal phases organize the 36-week school year^[1][2]:

1. Phase 1: Prepare (Units 1–3) Focuses on getting ready for the garden year—building beds, amending soil, introducing tool safety and shadow board care, exploring compost and worms, sorting seeds, and mapping out garden plans^[1].
2. Phase 2: Sow (Units 4–6) Covers the science of water and sunlight, planting large and tiny seeds, transplanting seedlings, labeling beds, and learning about plant anatomy (roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruit)^[1].
3. Phase 3: Tend (Units 7–9) Centers on daily garden care—observing pollinators and beneficial insects, weeding and mulching, monitoring weather stations, protecting crops against heat or frost, measuring growth, and keeping garden journals^[1].
4. Phase 4: Harvest and Rest (Units 10–12) Involves picking crops, preparing meals in the kitchen, saving seeds for next year, studying plant life cycles, putting the garden beds to rest, and hosting celebrations or sharing harvests with neighbors^[1].