The Program in action

Find out more about how the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program works in schools.
Learn how to design and build a beautiful, productive food garden; discover the essentials of school kitchen design and how to develop delicious seasonal menus; and learn more about the Kitchen Garden Program's educational value and links with curriculum.

Learning across the garden, kitchen and classroom

The Kitchen Garden Program provides many opportunities for learning. Here we discuss some of the positive attitudes and behaviours developed in the Kitchen Garden Program, how they relate to subjects and add to the formal learning taking place in the classroom.

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Learning across the garden, kitchen and classroom
 
Recipes and Menus

The unit explores the ways recipes and menus are recorded and presented. Students examine text and graphic elements that combine to inform and influence readers, and how context shapes meaning. There is also scope for extending students’ vocabulary, particularly with regard to technical terms for cooking (whisk, fold, beat, roast, baste, braise - all of which have very specific defined meanings in cookery).

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Recipes and Menus
 
What's a garden class?

There is no single blueprint for garden classes - only the principle that classes are driven by the need to build and maintain an exciting garden in ways that are fun for students.

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What's a garden class?
 
Designing your garden

The garden classroom is a place of life and learning, where children gather to explore the bounty of nature and to experience this first-hand through growing and harvesting their own delicious fruits and vegetables.

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Designing your garden
 
Designing your kitchen

Within the kitchen, the focus is on creating a warm, friendly, home-style environment in which meals can be prepared and shared. Every student plays a hands-on role in making a delicious, fresh meal, then gathers around a table to share that meal.

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Designing your kitchen
 
Acidity in the Soil

Soil testing is very popular with schools that have vegetable gardens. It is enormously useful to know the pH of your soil - not just for planning where plants will go, but also to involve students in an understanding of the needs of plants.

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Acidity in the Soil
 
Friend or Foe?

These activities are designed to awaken students’ curiosity about insects and other living creatures in our garden environment.

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Friend or Foe?
 
Window on the World

This activity is designed to facilitate closer observation of the natural environment in students.

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Window on the World