Design Your Own Farm
Imagine you were given some land and had to grow all of your own food. What fruits and vegetables would you plant?
Food Fun: Growing and Making Your Own Food
Learn how to grow your own fruits and vegetables, and to make your own butter, cheese, and sourdough bread.
About the Activities
Have you ever looked at food from the grocery store and wondered where it came from, how it was grown, processed, and delivered? How many miles did all the ingredients in your pizza travel to get to your plate?
What if it didn't have to be that way? What if you could make your own crust, grow your own herbs, make your own cheese? Grow your own vegetables for a salad?
Well, guess what: You can! In this series of activities, kids will learn how to plant, grow, and produce their own food, from vegetables to cheese, butter, and bread.
Grades: K-12 (adult supervision needed for younger kids)
Topic: Agriculture, Food Security
Time: 30 minutes to 2 weeks, depending on the activity
Brought to you by University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service
My Food Journal
About the Activity
What we eat is both a matter of what's available to us, and an important piece of our health. In this activity, we'll reflect on our food choices, our food options, and how to think creatively about what we eat and where it comes from.
Grades: K-12
Topic: Food Security, Agriculture
Estimated Time: 1 hour
Windowsill Greenhouse Garden
About the Activity
In this activity, we'll learn how to grow a variety of lettuces and edible flowers in a greenhouse-style, windowsill garden setup. We'll explore how to take care of these leafy greens plants, track their growth, and harvest them for our family dinner.
Grades: 3-12
Topic: Food Security, Agriculture
Estimated Time: 30 minutes on Day 1, then 5 minutes per day
Grow Your Own Microgreens
About the Activity
Microgreens are a delicious healthy addition to many meals, including salads. In this activity, we'll learn how to grow and take care of plants in a microgreen system - a great example of how easy it can be to grow your own healthy, delicious food.
Grades: 3-12
Topic: Food Security, Agriculture
Estimated Time: 20 minutes on the first day, then 5 minutes per day
Make Your Own Butter
About the Activity
Everyone loves butter, but do you know where it comes from? If you said 'milk,' you're only half correct. In this activity, we'll learn where butter comes from and how to make our own delicious, rich, creamy butter!
Grades: K-12
Topic: Food Security, Agriculture
Estimated Time: 30 minutes
Make Your Own Cheese
About the Activity
In this activity, kids will learn how to make cheese from milk, plus they'll compare milk that comes from cows with milk that comes from goats and a goat. And if they're feeling adventurous, they can even make a cheese of each kind and see how they stack up to each other!
Grades: K-12
Topic: Food Security, Agriculture
Estimated Time: 90 minutes
Make Your Own Sourdough Starter and Pizza Crust
About the Activity
Maybe the best thing about pizza is that you can make your own - from scratch! In this activity, we'll learn the science behind making a sourdough pizza crust by making our own starter, then turning it into dough - and a yummy, delicious za!
Grades: 3-12
Topic: Food Security, Agriculture
Estimated Time: 1 week
Related Activities
If you enjoyed these activities, you can find more related activities on 4-H at Home.
Shop 4-H Curriculum and Products
Shop 4-H offers university-backed curriculum, educational kits, and products to grow your interest in gardening, environmental science and more!
Gardening Bingo
Players select picture boards and place a chip over the corresponding garden image as cards are read aloud. Each card has facts about flowers or plants.
$16.99
Marigold Grow Kit
This 4-H Grows Here terra cotta colored planter kit includes marigold seeds, a soil disk, and instructions.
$3.25
Gardening Essentials Bundle
This Gardening Essentials Bundle is the perfect way to introduce youth to growing and nurturing their favorite fruits, vegetables, herbs or flowers, right in their own homes.
$18.50
Gardening Level A: See Them Sprout
Grades: 3-4
12 fun activities that include germinating seeds, growing pumpkins, experimenting with plants, and exploring vegetables and vegetable products.
$6.95
4-H Tool Tote
Helps you take your brushes & tools to the Fair or spend an afternoon in the garden. Features 6 outer pockets and one large opening. Tools not included. Please note size before ordering: 8" tall x 8" diameter
$9.95
Mini Herb Garden
Grow herbs right inside your kitchen with this mini herb garden! Perfect for any windowsill, this kit comes with 3 pots to grow your own parsley, basil, or chives.
$9.95
Brought to you by:
No endorsement of these supporters' products or services is granted or implied by 4‑H. This work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, AFRI - Education and Workforce Development project 2021-67037-33376.
Take Our Survey