The following activities are examples of how the American Heart Association is engaging students in fun, educational, hands-on investigations of nutritious fruits and vegetables in and out of the garden.

American Heart Association Teaching Gardens can be as simple or as elaborate as you choose, and the scale of your program will depend on your time, experience, resources and preferences. The full Teaching Gardens curriculum includes a wide variety of activities, from simple matching games and scavenger hunts to more elaborate planting and cooking projects.

If this is your first experience with a school garden, we suggest that you start small. Enjoy some successful garden experiences as you establish clear expectations with your students around the space, then branch into some of the more elaborate lessons when you are ready.

Click to try a few of the activities that support the Teaching Gardens experience.

Pre-K Activities:
1. What’s for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner?
2. Did You Ever Mix a Salad? Song Activity
3. What’s a Snack?
4. Choose a Heart Healthy Snack Coloring Sheet

K-2nd Grade Activities:
1. Why Do We Eat?
2. What Foods Do You Need?
3. Making Healthful Choices

Grades 3-5 Activities:
1. Heart-Y Lunch
2. Heart Healthy Menus
3. What’s in Foods?
4. Rate that Snack