Hey There
Art
“A Square Yard in the School Yard” is a hands-on approach taught in schools to children of all ages and demonstrates how vegetables are grown, the importance of nutrition and the benefits of locally grown foods. In a scaled-down version of Square Foot Gardens, elementary school children are able to dig, plant and harvest their own vegetables. In this visual, you can see how easy it can be for beginners, children especially, to get involved.
Square Foot Garden
The Square Foot Gardening curriculum is currently used in many school districts in the U.S. to educate and excite young people about the importance of eating healthy and the benefits of sustainability. The curriculum’s STEAM approach is also an effective springboard to teach about science, math, art, social interaction and cooperation for all grade levels.Square Foot Gardening is a wonderful way to teach kids STEAM subjects, including science, technology, engineering, art, and math! What a great way to get them started on their gardening journey!
​
One of the unique features of Square Foot Gardening is the grid. The grid not only defines a Square Foot Garden, but it’s important for plant spacing, thereby reducing waste.
21st Century Skills
There are so many ways to share a Square Foot Garden in your own town. A great place to start is with your community garden, or perhaps in your house of worship, library or school. Senior centers are a great way to get people involved. Make sure you have permission and don’t forget you need a water source and plenty of sun.
We can also get creative by painting the accessories and wood dividers
​
How to Get Started:
Let’s talk about the 8 steps on how to actually get started with Square Foot Gardening.
1. Planning your garden
2. Laying out the Square Foot Garden
3. Building Boxes and grids
4. Building box accessories
5. Putting down the Soil
6. Planting the seeds
7. Maintaining
8. Harvesting
​
​
Cross- Curricular Connection
Other than the creative and art concept related to SFG, science and math also are integrated in this activitiy as students take up the Engineering Design Challenge of designing and planting a Square Foot Garden that meets the needs of different plant species for spacing (access to light), and accomplishes this spacing by applying math skills to partition squares into halves, quarters, eighths or sixteenths.
​
Art of STEAM
For many young people, creating art is a natural form of self-expression and is a central source of fulfillment, relaxation, and creativity in their lives. That is why encouraging children and youth to integrate endeavors in the arts with the outdoors. Art is an excellent means through which to explore and express ideas; it helps learners to engage with important ideas and questions and to be reflective learners.
