2024 2025
Publications by Josephine County Farm Collective and those within its online resources are copyrighted by Josephine County Farm Collective or the third-party authors, and all rights are reserved.
Copyright © First edition September 2024 Josephine County Farm COllective
This compilation of lessons was developed by Josephine County Farm Collective in an effort to provide curriculum and skills based connections to the agriculture industry.
We appreciate the input of our team and community partners whose contribution and funding make this publication possible. We look forward to expanding our offerings in the Farm to School Curriculum Catalog as we grow with our community’s needs.
A special thanks to our sponsors:
Josephine County Farm Collective is pleased to release it’s first edition curriculum catalog for farm to school programming in Josephine County. This project, in partnership with Oregon Health Authority and The Carpenter Foundation, are working towards a public health equity goal by changing the climate of healthy food access to one without barriers. We believe this begins by connecting community to their local food system network and it’s producers. We hope this project provides a valuable resource for students to gain an understanding of where their food comes from, the economic and nutritional value of locally grown food and how it helps them grow into healthy adults.
Carrie Juchau, Executive Director
Available October 2024 - March 2025
The Farmer in the Classroom program provides each class with a short instructional lesson followed by a hands on activity, and/or tasting opportunity in the classroom or school garden (if available) Understanding that each school and organization has a different need and interest, Josephine County Farm Collective’s farm to school program offers multiple activity options for many lessons. This provides a customized experience for each class. Lessons may be used stand alone to introduce a new unit or provide enrichment to an ongoing topic of study.
Available April - May 2025
Farm Tours provide an engaging combination of physical exercise, sensory stimulation and hands on learning while students rotate through activity stations presented by our educators With plenty of time for discovery, students will breathe in a snapshot of life on the farm. Use our catalog to select topics of interest for your class to learn during their farm tour visit, or we can make seasonally appropriate recommendations.
All farms tours are held at Daily Blessings Farm, also home to the Josephine County Farm Collective's food hub where thousands of locally grown foods are distributed to those in need throughout the community We are located eight miles west of downtown Grants Pass off highway 199.
Busses drop students off at Bonnie Lane for a easy 1/4 mile walk to Daily Blessings Farm to start the day. Packed lunches may be stored in our walk in cooler. An outhouse and handwashing stations are provided.
Most farm tours include about four hours of instructional time on site, but each tour may be customized to the needs of each visiting group. We have limited reservations available for April and May so please submit your interest/reservation request through our website as soon as possible.
Oodles of Noodles Root Beer
Time: 40-50 Minutes
Students will learn how seeds germinate by identifying the seed needs, anatomy and functions of each part.
Activity: Seed dissection of a monocot and dicot seed. Draw & label models of one or both.
Time: 40-50 Minutes
Students will learn about how seeds travel from one location to another by identifying the ways seeds have adapted their size and shapes.
Activity: Create a collage of seed samples Discuss modes of transportation and adaptations.
GRADES 3-5
Time: 40-50 Minutes
Students will design and create a gardenbased mosaic using various seeds to add color and texture.
Activity: Using a variety of different colored and shaped seeds, students will create an art mosaic of something seen in a garden.
GRADES 1-5
Time: 30-40 Minutes
Students will define pollination, learn about how honey is made, label the honey bee anatomy, identify roles and bee communication strategies
Activity: Multiple activity options are available.
Time: 30-40 Minutes
Students will define pollination, learn the butterfly’s life cycle, and identify butterfly anatomy.
Activity: Multiple activity options are available.
Time: 30 Minutes
Students will identify numerous different pollinators and how they are adapted to pollinate different types of plants
Activity: Multiple activity options are available
Time: 40-50 Minutes
Students will identify the 3 basic soil constituents, basic NPK plant macro- and micronutrients and understand the importance of pH for plants
Activity: Multiple activity options are available.
Time: 40-50 Minutes
Students will define vermiculture and compare with other composting strategies. They will learn the basic life cycle, anatomy, and needs of worms.
Activity: Build a tabletop vermicomposter to take home.
GRADES 4-8
me: 40-50 Minutes
udents will identify the benefits of mposting for plant health, soil health, d food waste reduction Discussion will entify compostable and nonmpostable items
tivity: Create a home compost reference heel or build a compost pile
GRADES 1-5
Time: 40-50 Minutes
Students will identify the tree’s vascular anatomy and function of each part by creating a “Tree Cookie” model.
Activity: Using a cross section, Students create their own diagram of the various layers of a tree.
Time: 40-50 Minutes
Students will identify common tree leaves paint and press seasonal leaves to create beautiful notecard
Activity: Create a beautiful print using lea as a stamp on notecard stationary.
GRADES PRE
ree ID
using Leaf Dichotomy
me: 40-50 Minutes
udents will learn how to identify trees sing a dichotomous key.
ctivity: Classifications with live samples GRADES 5-8
TIME: 40-50 MINUTES
Students will discuss the lettuce life cycle and discuss how lettuce seedlings resemble their parents. They will investigate different types of lettuce and compare/contrast taste
Activity: Lettuce planting
2-5
Time: 40-50 Minutes
tudents will learn about the three types of microgreens, how they differ from prouts, how to plant, grow, and harvest hem, and the nutritional benefits of hese tiny plants
Activity: Plant a microgreens kit to take home
GRADES 1-5
Time: 40-50 Minutes
Description: Students will learn about the parts of the plant that we eat, how aspara grows in comparison to other vegetables require a seed vs. a crown.
Activity: Cooking demonstration with a tasting comparison to canned asparagus
Six of One Half Dozen of the Other
TIME: 40-50 MINUTES
Guided by a list of adjectives, students will explore the garden and collect items. While in the garden, students will use all their senses to observe and then, share their collections with the class.
Activity: Garden scavenger hunt
GRADES PRE-K-4
Time: 40-50 Minutes
Students will discuss the 5 food groups and how foods are categorized They will sort foods according to their food group.
Activity: Food group relay race
GRADES 1-4
Time: 40-50 Minutes
Description
Activity: Do you have something you need accomplished in your school garden? Let’s discuss it in more detail
1-5
Tomato Time with Salsa Fresca
TIME: 40-50 MINUTES
Students will identify plants in the Nightshade family, similarities and differences of these plants, the tomato’s origin, life cycle and edible parts of the plant.
Activity: Making Salsa Fresca
Time: 30-40 Minutes
Students will learn the life cycle of wheat, the six classes of wheat grown in the US, how it’s planted, harvested, and milled into flour.
Activity: Multiple activity options are available.
Time: 40-50 Minutes
Discussion will cover various root crops, how they are typically used, and the difference between herbal roots and vegetable roots Then, students will make their own root beer.
Activity: Home Brewed Root Beer
GRADES 4-8
Josephine County Farm Collective enjoys the support of many local community and industry partners. Every contribution to our educational programs is greatly appreciated.
A sincere THANK YOU for our supporters who have donated materials and supplies to support our farm to school activities:
Published First Edition: September 2024