BOCC Head Start/Early Head Start

About the Program

Category: Children and Youth (Best in Category)

Year: 2012

BOCC Head Start/Early Head Start Hillsborough County, FL Population: 1,132,152 Hillsborough County BOCC Head Start/Early Head Start wanted to strengthen the focus of math and science development for children attending Head Start programs by formulating the Sustainable Garden Project. Most of beginning math and science ideas – measurement, counting, observing and describing are ideas that children naturally learn as they explore and play. Additionally, extending learning of math and science beyond the confines of the classroom encourages young children to consider their world in non-traditional ways. By building on children’s natural curiosity and providing opportunities to enrich their knowledge and understanding of the environment, gardening in a school setting furthered higher quality learning. Opportunities for learning about where their food comes from were abound in this gardening project also while building language and literacy skills. Activities included were “hands on” with the children planting seeds, digging in the dirt, watering the plants, and “harvesting the crops.” The results showed that the Sustainable Gardens Project activities significantly increased the children’s math and science scores and had the additional benefit of increasing language skills for those children participating in the program.