Growing Smiles Curriculum

The Growing Smiles Curriculum is a hands-on, soil-based education program designed to help children explore how healthy soil creates healthy food, healthy people, and a healthy planet.

Through storytelling, real-world experiments, and garden-based activities, students learn how living soil, plants, and pollinators work together to sustain life — while building confidence, teamwork, and a sense of wonder for the natural world.

Each unit connects seamlessly to the next, following the rhythm of the school year and the growing season. Lessons align with NGSS standards and include teacher guides, student journals, and printable classroom activities.

The entire curriculum follows the flow of a standard school year. It includes the option to assign volunteers for summer time (height of growing season). This is important because most schools are in session in the cooler months and the vibrancy of a garden happens in the summer. Starting a garden in the spring during school and having volunteers tend to it during the summer ensures students will come back with the ability to harvest food.

Curriculum by Units

Unit 1: Soil- The Living World Beneath Us

Key Ideas (August)

Soil Texture Test

Microbes & Decomposers

Aggregates

Unit 2: Composting & Healthy Soil

Key Ideas (September-October)

Composting Types and Differentiators

Build a Johnson Sue Bioreactor (4-6th grade)

Compost temp and troubleshooting

Microbe Recap

Unit 3: Seeds and Germination

Key Ideas (November)

Direct Sow & Transplanting

Parts and functions of a Plant

What a plant needs to grow (photosynthesis)

Feed Me Nutrient Demo and Nutrient density of food

Unit 4: Indoor Garden Lab & Winter Ecology

Key Ideas (December- January)

Warm season plants versus cool season plants

Perennials & Annuals

Cover Crops and Winter Photosynthesis

How to Grow Crops in the Wintertime

Row Covers and Protecting Perennials

Therapeutic Gardens (What is it and how is it helpful and inclusive)

Designing a therapeutic garden space (accessibility and special spaces

Which plants go in a therapeutic garden?

Unit 5: Plant Power & Photosynthesis

Key Ideas (January- February)

Read Power Plant Story about photosynthesis and Root Exudates

Sponges and droppers (Visual demo of root exudates)

Brix Education and Nutrient Link (Food Distance Mapping)

Carbon Cycle and Cover Crops

Unit 6: Pollinators, Pests and Beneficial Insects

Key Ideas (February-March)

What is a pollinator, pest and beneficial in the garden (pollinator art project)

How Pollination Works & Native Plants

Integrated or Holistic Pest Management

Find the Bug or Bug/Plant Match Game. Bug Fact Cards

Unit 7: Growing a Healthy Garden

Key Ideas (March, April and May)

Designing a garden layout (measuring materials)

Companion Planting, Direct Sow vs Transplant

Trap Crops, Terminating Cover Crops and Building Biodiversity

Seed Starting (beginning in March)

My Crop Isn’t Thriving (plant troubleshooting)

Revisit Brix with grown crops vs store bought (cool season)

Watering the Garden (how to, where to, how long and how often)

Unit 8: Harvest, Celebration and Community Impact

Key Ideas (May- August)

Summer Volunteer Coordination

Harvest Predictions

Saving Seeds (August next school year)

Close the Loop- Compost, Seed Starting, Garden Design, Harvest = Self Agency and Food Security

Hands-On Learning: Each unit includes real-world garden activities, experiments, and reflection time.
Soil-to-Table Connection: Students learn how soil health impacts nutrition and food access.
Therapeutic Focus: Activities foster mindfulness, teamwork, and emotional growth through nature.
NGSS-Aligned: Integrated with science, environmental literacy, and social-emotional learning.
Flexible Format: Works for classrooms, homeschool co-ops, and community or therapeutic gardens.

Included Resources

Teacher Edition PDFs: Step-by-step lesson guides, NGSS codes, and material lists.
Student Editions: Journals, reflection sheets, and experiment logs.
Printable Activities: Compost logs, seed trackers, BRIX charts, pollinator guides, and more.
Extension Projects: Art, wellness, and garden-to-table connections for every age level.

Why It Matters

Many children grow up disconnected from where their food comes from and how the natural systems around them work. Growing Smiles was designed to change that—to help students see that soil is alive, food has a story, and they are part of it.

By guiding students through the cycles of soil health, plant growth, and ecological balance, this program builds a foundation for:

Environmental literacy
Healthier eating habits
Social and emotional growth
Real-world problem-solving skills

The program aligns with science standards, but its heart is hands-on, joyful learning that meets kids where they are and grows with them season after season.

What Makes It Different

Soil-First Approach: Everything begins in the soil. Students explore living compost, soil texture, microbes, and decomposition, connecting the unseen world underground to the food on their plate.

Real-Life Science: Students build worm bins, measure BRIX (natural sugar content in plants), observe pollinators, and track compost temperature—bringing data and discovery together.

Climate Connection: Through lessons like Carbon Keepers, kids see how healthy soil helps store carbon, cool the planet, and support life.

Therapeutic & Inclusive Design: Every unit includes sensory, reflective, and accessible components so students of all abilities can participate—from mindfulness walks to sensory garden builds.

Interdisciplinary Learning: The curriculum blends science, math, art, and storytelling, teaching how water cycles, carbon flows, and communities grow stronger through care for the land.

How It Works

The Growing Smiles Curriculum is organized into seven interconnected units, following the rhythm of the school year and the natural growing cycle.

Students begin by learning what soil is and why it matters, then move through carbon cycles, energy transfer, germination, pollination, and community action. By the end of the year, they’ve not only grown a garden—they’ve grown an understanding of themselves as stewards of the earth.

Each unit includes:

A Teacher Edition with lesson plans, NGSS alignment, and material prep
A Student Edition with journals, experiments, and reflection prompts
Printable Activities for hands-on learning and classroom display
Optional Extensions for art, mindfulness, and home connections

The Learning Journey

Fall- Soil Foundation, Decomposers & Composting. Discover how soil is alive and create your own worm bin and compost system.

Late Fall- Carbon Keepers / Climate Connection. Learn how plants and microbes keep carbon in the soil and protect our planet’s balance.

Winter- Food Energy & BRIX. Explore how plants capture sunlight, create energy, and fuel our bodies with nutrient-dense food.

Early Spring- Seed Starting & Germination Start seeds, track germination, and learn what makes plants thrive.

Spring- Pollinators & Flower Power. Meet the bees, butterflies, and beetles that make our gardens grow.

Spring- Therapeutic & Sensory Gardens. Engage all five senses in the garden and discover how nature helps us heal and focus.

Late Spring/Summer- Waste Reduction & Home Impact Project. Take what you’ve learned home—track waste, compost, and share how small changes make a big impact.

Who It’s For

The Growing Smiles Curriculum was built for:

Schools: Teachers looking to bring science and sustainability alive in their classrooms
Homeschool Co-ops: Families wanting hands-on, experiential education
Therapeutic Programs: Occupational therapists and wellness educators using gardens as healing spaces
Community Gardens & Senior Homes: Intergenerational spaces where learning and growing happen side by side

Whether you have raised beds, container gardens, or simply curiosity, Growing Smiles adapts to fit your space and goals.

The Outcome

When students complete the program, they walk away with more than knowledge—they gain a relationship with the natural world.

They understand that every root, worm, and drop of water plays a role in life’s web—and that their own actions matter.

Growing Smiles doesn’t just grow gardens.
It grows hope, understanding, and the next generation of caretakers of the earth.