Gardening for credit?

[Excelsior! Academy]

My 14 yo dd has completed Biology and plans to take Chemistry next year and Physics the year after. She is good on maths, already having completed Algebra II and Geometry with plans to start Trig. then Calculus.  Right now she is in the process of taking the Human Growth and Development CLEP, which can also count toward science or an elective.  She is really wanting to start and maintain an organic vegetable garden, yet I am having trouble finding a high school syllabus and most curricula is geared toward younger children.  I am woefully ignorant when it comes to gardening, hence the lookout for a curriculum of some sort.  We do own Square Foot Gardening, but even more guidance would be great!  

 

What are your thoughts on doing this for credit?  What curriculum or guides would you suggest?

[Gil]

Do a search for terms like Agricultural science, high school agriculture, intro to agriculture and other related/similar terms.

College students get credit for gardening so I cant imagine why a highschooler shouldn't.

 

I searched 9th Grade Agricultural Science and this was the first link. Throw in terms like syllabus, Homework, assignment, course objectives and you should find enough to give you an idea of  what can/does/should "count" and what doesn't.

[Gil]

Found this, and they have a links for PreK-Highschool.

http://georgiaorganics.org/for-schools/curriculum

[Chrysalis Academy]

Agroecology!!  or Ecological Horticulture.  UC Santa Cruz has a fantastic, meaty TM for teaching organic farming and gardening - download it for free! :

 

http://casfs.ucsc.edu/education/TOFG-education.html

 

FWIW, dh and I were one of the group of apprentices that piloted the first edition of the TM, way back in 1999 . . . 

[GailV]

I would try Horticulture as a search term since that's what gardening is.  Agriculture is a much broader term.  

 

When I plugged the words horticulture and high school into google I found:

 

http://www.mnla.biz/?hscurriculum -- a curriculum for high school horticulture from Minnesota.  

 

If you're in the U.S. I'd check out your local county extension office, as they are typically treasure troves of pamphlets and handouts for this type of thing.   One of the extension programs is Master Gardeners, which is a training program for gardeners.  It's more geared for adults, but it wouldn't hurt to ask if they have anything for a 14yo -- if nothing else, you might find someone who can mentor your dd.  Here's a start on finding out about Master Gardeners: http://www.ahs.org/gardening-resources/master-gardeners   and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_gardener_program

 

(Ok, true confession -- what I'd REALLY do is get so caught up in the planning of this unit that all other homeschooling would cease.  LOVE THIS TOPIC!)

[Lori D.]

Some ideas:

 

complete course:

CLE: Introductory Horticulture -- high school course materials (textbook by Reiley, workbooks, Teacher Manual)

 

textbooks and materials:

Fundamentals of Horticulture (Bird) - textbook

Horticulture: Princles and Practices (Acquaah)

Botany for Gardeners (Capon) - resource

American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Gardening (Brickell) - resource

MN Nursery & Landscape Association: Introduction to Horticulture - free downloadable lesson plans, info PDF files and power points

OSU: Master Gardener Online -- short course series

 

additional resources for a DIY course:

Study.com: Free Online Horticulture Courses -- list of free courses on specific topics in horticulture

Coursera: What a Plant Knows -- 7 week free course

Botany Adventure (Wright) -- hands-on projects for gr. 6-12 to go with a Horticulture/Botany course; Cathy Duffy review

The Private Life of Plants -- 4-part video series by David Attenborough

Tutorial Material for Botanists - big list of Botany topics with lots of resource links

Weinger High School Agriculture Dept.: Intro to Horticulture -- syllabus, units, power points

Newton High School: Introduction to Horticulture -- handouts, which give you an idea of topics covered

 

 

You would likely want to cover basic topics such as plant growth, plant propagation, pests/pest control, soil dynamics/soil amendment, vermicompost (earthworms), harvesting, etc. You might also look into some related topics such as hydroponics, organic gardening, urban farming, aquaponics, greenhouse and plant nursery management/care, landscaping, etc. And you might look into local gardening groups such as Community Gardens, or a Master Gardener program with your local extension office. :)

Edited December 22, 2016 by Lori D.

[TCB]

Not quite on topic, but I'm having my dd grow a vegetable garden as part of her Health credit.

[AmyontheFarm]

We will be using Introductory Horticulture from this website https://www.clp.org/store/by_course/116

 

However, I bought the textbook much cheaper on Amazon. I did buy the the teacher and student Materials from CLP.

 

My dd#2 is at Agriculture college and this textbook covers what she learned there.  I figured it would give him a good base if he chooses to attend the same college as his sister.

 

[OneStepAtATime]

I realize the thread is older but there are great resources here so I am bumping in case anyone is planning on something like this later on.  Also, was wondering if OP had an update?

[MomsintheGarden]

I highly recommend Pam Dawling's book, Sustainable Market Farming. It's geared to small and medium sized growers, but its information is directly applicable to home gardens. Another great title is Cindy Conner's Grow a Sustainable Diet. Both of these ladies have blogs with a lot of useful information