Teacher's FAQ

1. How will I know if the curriculum made a difference? Each student participating in the classroom curriculum will participate in both a pre- and post- attitudinal survey (Veggietudes) to show how the curriculum influenced how they feel about eating fresh vegetables and living healthy lives. An optional Unit Assessment is also included in the curriculum for those teachers who wish to use it.

2. How long will it take to teach the curriculum? The curriculum has been designed as a 5-week program with 25 lessons, each lasting about 30 minutes. The length of the program can be stretched to incorporate more material. However, we caution against shortening the program. There is a lot of great material to cover. The plants need time to grow. Students will enjoy observing and monitoring plant growth. Harvesting for Feast Day comes at the end of the program - eating what you grow is half the fun!

3. Will you give me ideas on how to get the parents involved? Yes! Activities for the 5-week curriculum can easily involve parents (and other family members). Parents can be invited to help with some of the classroom projects and invited to the Feast Day celebration. There are class exercises that can be continued at home; a Family Table section can be found on our website with Student/Parent activities.

4 .How much space will I need in my classroom to grow the vegetables? Each classroom is supplied with a 4-foot grow light, 4 growing flats (approx. 12-15 inches), two root viewers, and a squash pot. An 8-foot table about 30" deep would provide plenty of room.

5. I do not know how to grow vegetables. Will you show me how, so I can teach my students? No prior knowledge of gardening is required - just a sense of adventure and a desire to learn. Veggie U provides a comprehensive teacher's manual, an instructional DVD, and staff members are available to answer your questions via phone or email 9-5 weekdays.

6. Do I need to gather all of the resources to teach this curriculum? Veggie U provides all major components for you to successfully complete the 5-week program - grow light, root viewers, propagation flats, soils, seed varieties, and grow flats, worms for a worm farm, plus a box of unusual fresh veggies from The Chef's Garden for tasting in your classroom. The 200-page curriculum and teacher's guide includes 25 lessons, 50 pages of reproducible handouts, and a list of supplementary materials to be provided by the teacher (like newspaper, napkins, pens, scissors, tape, etc.).

7. What's in it for my class? What can we learn? Veggie U's 4th grade curriculum offers a hands-on opportunity to learn about planting seeds, germination, growing and harvesting vegetables. The curriculum includes material on healthy eating, nutrition, along with recipes for healthy snacks. It was designed to meet national standards for the fourth grade in the areas of Science, Health and Nutrition, as well as numerous Language Arts and Math benchmarks.

8. I heard Veggie U kits are sometimes supplied at no charge. How do I get funding assistance? Limited assistance is available depending on the current donations and grants Veggie U has received at any given time. Please contact us so we know you're interested. If funds aren't available, we'll place you on a Request List. Many teachers have had success asking their school districts to support the program, or their PTO's, local Garden Clubs, or business sponsors. There are also teacher grants available in some areas. We'll do our best to help match you with assistance if needed.

9. Our plants are not growing very fast. Do you have any suggestions? Leaving the grow lights on 24 hours will help (they are low wattage). Also, rotate the grow trays under the light, and take care not to over water the plants.

10. Is there some way Veggie U can help students continue on a path of healthy eating once we conclude the 5-week program? Yes! We're developing this website (www.veggieu.org) with continuing education in mind. Students and parents will be able to find fun ways to connect with and further experience their new knowledge online through games and activities they can do from home.

If you'd like to see feedback from other teachers, click here.