Sowing the Seeds of Wonder - Discovering the Garden in Early Childhood Education

Compiled by Life Lab
                        

(Reviewed by Karen Payne)

This has been one of my go-to informational books for several years now. I teach Pre-K and K and run the Garden Program at a Montessori School and, as such, am frequently looking for creative hands-on gardening ideas to excite my young students. This book has provided me with wonderful ideas, creative garden/classroom integration, and developmentally appropriate activities and lesson plans for young children of all ages.

'Sowing the Seeds of Wonder – Discovering the Garden in Early Childhood Education' is a wonderful book for both educators AND parents. Written by the knowledgeable educators at Life Lab – a non-profit organization based on the UC Santa Cruz campus – it is full of resources designed to build a garden and nature based curriculum for young children. Full of hands-on activities, it serves as an introductory guide to exploring the outdoors through all five of our senses. It is very much a 'how-to' informational book that aims to provide both educators and parents with innovative and exciting ways to introduce young children to the outdoor world of nature that surrounds them. Over the years I have implemented many of the lesson plans contained within this book into my curriculum and, as a result, have built a year round garden curriculum for my students – ages 3 – 6 years.

'The Life Lab Science Program promotes science and garden-based education through curriculum and training programs that help educators use gardens to teach science, nutrition, and ecology'. This publication, Sowing the Seeds of Wonder, is a must-read for anyone interested in promoting gardening and outdoor exploration with their students, or their own children.