LEADERS
  HANDBOOK
                                             Copyright © 2017 FoodCorps, Inc. All rights reserved.
                             Sprout Scouts Adventures were created for FoodCorps in collaboration with Life Lab.
                                                                FoodCorps,  Inc.                                         Life Lab 
                                                             1140 SE 7th Avenue, Suite 100                    1156 High Street 
                                                             Portland,  OR  97214                                     Santa Cruz, CA 95064
                                                             212-596-7045                                                 831-459-2001
                                                             foodcorps.org                                                lifelab.org
                      FoodCorps connects kids to healthy food in school. We are a team of AmeriCorps leaders who serve in 
                      high-need schools to help students learn what healthy food is, fall in love with it, and eat it every day. 
                       We focus our service on delivering hands-on lessons in gardening, cooking and tasting healthy food; 
                                    improving school meals; and encouraging a schoolwide culture of health. 
                          Life Lab cultivates children’s love of learning, healthy food, and nature through garden-based 
                           education. Through hands-on workshops and award-winning publications, Life Lab provides 
                        educators with the inspiration and information necessary to engage young people in experiential 
                                                             learning in gardens.
                       Whitney Cohen of Life Lab primarily authored this text, in partnership with Kendal Chavez of Farm to 
                                      Table New Mexico, and Erica Curry and Cecily Upton of FoodCorps. 
                                                      Sprout Scouts is made possible by
                                         Presenting Sponsor                       Founding Partner
                                    FoodCorps National Champion                  FoodCorps Catalyst
                                           for Healthy Kids                        for Healthy Kids
                        2
                      CONTENTS
                      GETTING STARTED       4
                      Introduction to Sprout Scouts      5
                      Making Sprout Scouts Your Own      7
                      Suggested Materials       9
                      Safety, Health and Well-Being      10
                      Starting Your Sprout Scouts Club      13
                      Managing Your Sprout Scouts Club: The Four Ps                                14
                      Leading Sprout Scouts Activities: The Five Es                                17
                      Sprout Scouts Essential Skills      20
                      SPROUT SCOUTS ADVENTURES AND ACTIVITY GUIDES                                 21
                      Orientation Session: Welcome to Sprout Scouts                                22
                      Adventure One: Getting Ready to Grow                                         30
                      How Does Our Soil Stack Up?                                                  33
                      Compost Cake        37
                      Making the Bed        42
                      Go, Grow, Glow!        45
                      Take Home: Compost Pile       48
                      Adventure One Certificate       49
                      Adventure Two: Planting Our Garden     50
                      Seed Soiree        53
                      Paper Pots        56
                      Plant a Salad        59
                      Honey Seed Snacks       63
                      Take Home: Seed Scavenger Hunt      66
                      Adventure Two Certificate       67
                      Adventure Three: Caretaking      68
                      Keeping Our Garden Growing      70
                      Homes for Our Helpers       73
                      Deadheading and Seed Saving      77
                      Tea Time         80
                      Take Home: Build a Bee Hotel                                                 83
                      Adventure Three Certificate      84
                      Adventure Four: Enjoying the Harvest     86
                      Harvest Time!        89
                      Party Prep        93
                      Sharing the Harvest       97
                      The Final Feast        100
                      Take Home: Family Food Stories      105
                      Adventure Four Certificate       106
                      APPENDIX        108
                      Sprout Scouts Promotional Flyer      109
                      Sprout Scouts Permission Slip Template                                       110
                      FoodCorps Video & Photography Release Form                                   111
                      Soil to Smoothie Reproducible Images                                         112
         Getting 
         Started
                                         Copyright © 2019 FoodCorps