Little Food Forest Unit Study

About this printable

Four weeks of real, hands-on garden science for kids ages 5–10, built around the ideas of permaculture: watch first, feed the soil, plant in layers, welcome the helpers, catch the rain and share the harvest.

Every lesson has a one-page plan for you (what you need, the steps, questions to ask, and easier and harder versions so siblings can work together) and a worksheet for them. Materials are simple: jars, soil, beans, leaves, a stick and some sunshine.

The 12 lessons

Week 1: Watch first

• Sun Detective: track a shadow through the day
• Water Detective: build a rain gauge and find where water runs
• Map Your Yard: a bird's-eye map with symbols

Week 2: Living soil

• Soil Shake Test: sand, silt and clay in a jar
• Who Lives in the Soil?: a soil safari tally
• Feed the Soil: greens, browns, and compost in a bottle

Week 3: Plants in layers

• Inside a Seed: dissect a bean and find the baby plant
• A Forest Has Floors: the 7 layers of a food forest
• Grow a Bean: a 2-week bean-in-a-jar diary

Week 4: Helpers, rain and sharing

• Garden Helpers: a helper hunt and a bug hotel
• Slow It, Spread It, Sink It: a rain-runoff tray experiment
• Share the Harvest: design your own food forest and make seed packets to give away

Also included

• 12 illustrated vocabulary cards (canopy, compost, mulch, pollinator, decomposer, fungi and more)
• Nature journal page (I notice / I wonder / It reminds me of), so you can print as many as you like
• Answer key
• "Earth Helper" completion certificate

What you get

• 34-page PDF in US Letter and A4 (portrait)
• Prints well at home; most worksheets work in black and white
• Instant download: print what you need, when you need it

Pairs with

June and the Little Food Forest, our illustrated picture book. Each lesson points to the page that tells the same idea as a story. It's sold separately in the shop.

This is a digital download. Nothing will be shipped. Download from Purchases and Reviews on etsy.com in a web browser (the Etsy app can't download files).

Good to know

• Safety notes are included: wash hands after soil work, grown-ups handle cutting, never taste wild plants or mushrooms, and return every creature where you found it.
• Family license: print as many copies as your household needs. Co-ops and classrooms: please buy one copy per teacher. Please don't resell or share the files.