Living Root Garden School: A Homeschool Program That Gets Dirty

Most garden curricula hand a kid a worksheet about soil. This one hands them soil. Living Root Garden School is a complete homeschool program built from the Living Root kids guides: 47 units grouped into five subjects — soil, plants, creatures, water, and design — each one pairing a guide to read with a mission to do outside and a piece of work for the portfolio. It is free, it uses household stuff and a yard, and it does not require buying anything, ever. No kit, no castings purchase, no seed packet you can only get from us. If your yard has dirt, you are equipped.

One honest frame up front, because homeschool parents deserve it straight: this program is not accredited and awards no credit or diploma. Homeschool parents direct their own curriculum and award credit under their own state’s rules — this program gives you sequenced learning and portfolio-ready work, not credentials. In Florida, for example, home education families file a notice of intent, keep a portfolio (an activity log plus work samples) for two years, and file an annual evaluation; the log sheets below are designed to feed exactly that portfolio. Other states differ, so check yours. What we promise is real learning and real dirt under fingernails. What we do not promise is paperwork we have no right to issue.

How It Works: Read, Do, Log

Every unit runs the same three steps. Read the linked kids guide together — they are written to be read aloud or solo, with games built in. Do the mission, which is the actual learning: outside, hands-on, usually a little muddy. Log it: one entry in the portfolio log (date, unit, what you did, what you noticed) plus the unit’s portfolio piece — a sketch, a map, a photo, a data table. That log plus those pieces is the portfolio. At evaluation time, you are not reconstructing a year from memory; you are handing over a folder that built itself week by week.

Three bands, one program. Sprouts (about 6–8) do the Read and the Case. Growers (about 9–11) do the same, and start trying the Stretch steps when a unit sparks them. Teens (12 and up) add the Stretch in every unit — deeper science, real data, real math. One program, three depths, so siblings can run the same unit at the same time without the older one being bored or the younger one being lost.

Pacing. One unit a week makes a 47-week program — a full school year with room to breathe. Two a week makes about 24 weeks. Or follow the seasons: run the soil units in fall, the growing units in spring, the wild-neighbor units whenever the creatures show up. The order below is the recommended path within each subject, not a prison. Units are numbered in order within each subject — Soil runs Units 1–9, Plants 10–20, Creatures 21–37, Water 38–41, and Design 42–47 — so the numbers match the data sheets and the portfolio log. Skip a mission that needs rain if it is not raining; come back to it.

Supplies. A notebook, a pencil, a magnifier, jars, a ruler, a trowel, and a yard. Individual units list their extras, and every one of them is a household or garden item. Nothing in this program requires a purchase from our shop or anyone else’s.

Follow the Path — At Your Own Pace

There is no calendar here, no week count, no deadlines, and nothing to fall behind on. That is the whole point of homeschooling. The 47 units below are arranged as a suggested path — start at Unit 1 and follow the numbers, or jump straight to the subject that matches your season. Do one unit in an afternoon or stretch one across a month. Fast weeks, slow weeks, skipped weeks, repeat-a-favorite weeks: all of them count. The path is the order, not the speed.

The suggested order runs Soil (Units 1–9) → Plants (10–20) → Creatures (21–37) → Water (38–41) → Design (42–47), because the underground comes first and everything else grows out of it. But the seasons get a vote too: run the soil units in fall, the growing units in spring, and the wild-neighbor units whenever the creatures show up.

The Levels: Sprouts, Growers, and Teens

The units are written for two depths — Sprout and Teen — and inside those, three age bands help you pace it. These are starting points, not fences; parents know their kids, so move a child up or down freely, and let siblings run the same unit together at different depths.

• 🌱 Sprouts (about 6–8): Read the guide and crack the Case. That is the whole unit, and it is enough.
• 🌇 Growers (about 9–11): Read and Case, just like Sprouts — and start trying the Stretch steps when a unit sparks them. Growers are older Sprouts stretching toward the deeper work, at their own speed.
• 🌳 Teens (12 and up): The Case plus the Stretch in every unit — deeper science, real data, real math, and projects that take longer and go further.

Print-As-You-Go Packets

Every unit has a one-page printable packet: a Case to solve, Ask, Try, Tell, something to Build, someone to teach, and a skill badge to earn — plus a portfolio check. Print the one for the unit you are on — nothing to print ahead, nothing to keep up with. Each packet is free, and you can print as many copies as you like.

Soil (Units 1–9): Unit 1: Worm Castings 101 · Unit 2: The Worm Bin · Unit 3: Soil Layers · Unit 4: Soil pH · Unit 5: Mycorrhizae · Unit 6: Compost · Unit 7: Compost Critters · Unit 8: Decomposers · Unit 9: Mushrooms & Fungi

Plants (Units 10–20): Unit 10: Seeds · Unit 11: Roots · Unit 12: Photosynthesis · Unit 13: Flowers · Unit 14: Carnivorous Plants · Unit 15: Pizza Garden · Unit 16: Trees · Unit 17: Herbs · Unit 18: Grow Your First Garden · Unit 19: Wildflowers · Unit 20: Moss & Lichen

Creatures (Units 21–37): Unit 21: Pollinators · Unit 22: Good Bugs, Bad Bugs · Unit 23: Frogs & Toads · Unit 24: Lizards & Skinks · Unit 25: Good Snakes, Bad Snakes · Unit 26: Backyard Birds · Unit 27: The Night Shift · Unit 28: Chickens · Unit 29: Spiders · Unit 30: Backyard Mammals · Unit 31: Ants · Unit 32: Snails & Slugs · Unit 33: Butterflies & Caterpillars · Unit 34: Bees · Unit 35: Beetles · Unit 36: Bats · Unit 37: Turtles

Water (Units 38–41): Unit 38: The Water Cycle · Unit 39: Pond Life · Unit 40: Seasons · Unit 41: Rain Gardens

Design (Units 42–47): Unit 42: Patterns in the Garden · Unit 43: Reading the Landscape · Unit 44: Design Your Own Yard · Unit 45: Berms, Swales & Paths · Unit 46: Keep It for Later · Unit 47: Cook What You Grew

🏅 Print the completion certificate — for the portfolio folder when your family finishes all 47 units, whenever that happens. There is no time frame on it, because there is no time frame on the program. It is a keepsake, not a diploma: this program is not accredited and awards no credit.

Subject 1: Soil & the Underground

Everything a garden does starts where you cannot see it. Worms, compost, fungi, and the ground itself — the underground crew that feeds everything above it.

Unit 1: Worm Castings 101

Read: Worm Castings 101

🔍 The Case: The case of the disappearing leaves — something in the yard is turning leaves into dark crumbs. Find the culprit. The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Design a fair test: same seed, same pots, same water, three or more plants per group — one group in plain soil, one in soil mixed with castings (from your own bin or a friend’s, never required to buy). Predict the result, measure growth weekly, and record it in a data table.

Portfolio piece: Castings sketch + notes page. Supplies: magnifier, jar, notebook.

📋 Print Unit 1’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 2: The Worm Bin

Read: Worm Bin for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the vanishing scraps — a banana peel went into a box and came out as black gold. Who ate it, and how does the box work? The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Do the bin math. Worms eat roughly half their body weight in food per day, so work out: how many worms would handle your household’s weekly fruit and veggie scraps? How big a bin does that need? And learn the rule that saves every beginner: pooled liquid in a bin means it is too wet — add dry bedding. That liquid is leachate, not worm tea, and it never goes on plants.

Portfolio piece: Labeled blueprint + feeding calendar. Supplies: paper, pencil.

📋 Print Unit 2’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 3: Soil Layers

Read: Soil Layers for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the underground cake — the ground under your feet is stacked in layers. Dig one pit and read them. The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Do the jar test: soil + water in a jar, shake, settle, and measure the settled bands as percentages of sand, silt, and clay. Read the texture off a soil texture triangle and name your soil.

Portfolio piece: Profile sketch with measurements. Supplies: trowel, ruler, notebook, jar.

📋 Print Unit 3’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 4: Soil pH

Read: Soil pH for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the locked pantry — the food is right there in the soil, but the plants cannot eat it. Find the number that is locking the door. The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Track one crop in two spots with different pH and record growth differences over three weeks. Does the pH map predict the winner?

Portfolio piece: Yard pH map. Supplies: pH strips, notebook.

📋 Print Unit 4’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 5: Mycorrhizae

Read: Mycorrhizae for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the invisible internet — plants are trading with something underground you cannot see. Find the partners. The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Diagram the trade deal with real terms: the plant pays sugars made by photosynthesis, the fungus pays phosphorus and water gathered by a network far wider than any root system. Label who gives what, and what happens to a plant that loses its fungal partners.

Portfolio piece: Fungus sketches + trade diagram (teen). Supplies: magnifier, notebook.

📋 Print Unit 5’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 6: Compost

Read: Compost for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the banana peel that became a tomato — a pile of dead leaves is cooking itself hot. Find out who is doing the cooking. The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Estimate your pile’s carbon-to-nitrogen ratio. Rough figures gardeners use: browns around 60 parts carbon to 1 nitrogen, greens around 15 to 1, with a finished pile aiming near 30 to 1. Work out whether your recipe lands close, and what to add if it does not.

Portfolio piece: Recipe + pile log. Supplies: yard materials, a heap spot or bin.

📋 Print Unit 6’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 7: Compost Critters

Read: Compost Critters for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the missing apple core — it went into the pile and vanished. Who ate it, and in what order? The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Draw the heap’s food web: who shreds, who decomposes, who hunts whom. Label each creature’s role and trace one piece of leaf from fresh to soil through at least four creatures.

Portfolio piece: Safari tally + strangest-creature sketch (+ food web for teens). Supplies: magnifier, notebook.

📋 Print Unit 7’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 8: Decomposers

Read: Decomposers for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the log that turned to soil — a dead tree is disappearing, bite by bite. Who is eating it? The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Compare decay rates: two different materials left in the same spot, observed on the same schedule. Which breaks down faster, and what explains the difference — chemistry, structure, or who is eating it?

Portfolio piece: Log-visit notes. Supplies: notebook.

📋 Print Unit 8’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 9: Mushrooms & Fungi

Read: Mushrooms & Fungi for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the overnight umbrellas — strange shapes popped up in the yard while you slept. What are they, and what is hiding underneath? The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Map your yard’s fungi over two weeks and line the map up with rainy days. Do new fungi appear after every rain, or only after the big ones?

Portfolio piece: Fungi sketches + yard map. Supplies: notebook, pencil.

📋 Print Unit 9’s data sheet (PDF)

Subject 2: Plants & How They Grow

From seed to flower to fruit: how plants eat light, drink water, and feed us — plus two projects where you grow dinner yourself.

Unit 10: Seeds

Read: Seeds for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the tiny time machine — a dry bean sat in the kitchen for months, then built a whole plant. What is packed inside? The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Run a germination-rate trial: same seed, two conditions (light vs dark, or warm vs cool), count how many sprout out of each batch of ten, and compare the percentages.

Portfolio piece: Labeled seed envelopes + planting log. Supplies: envelopes, labels, pots or a garden row.

📋 Print Unit 10’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 11: Roots

Read: Roots for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the plant that is half underground — a weed came up with more root than top. What is the hidden half doing down there? The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Measure a root-to-shoot ratio on a harvested plant: length and rough mass of roots versus tops. What does the ratio say about where that plant puts its energy?

Portfolio piece: Root sketches with measurements. Supplies: ruler, notebook.

📋 Print Unit 11’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 12: Photosynthesis

Read: Photosynthesis for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the leaf that went pale — a leaf kept in the dark turned yellow and stopped growing. What did the darkness take away? The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Do the starch test: with adult supervision, test a sunlit leaf and a foil-covered leaf for starch with iodine (never ingest the test materials). Starch present means photosynthesis happened there. Record both results and explain them.

Portfolio piece: Before/after leaf comparison + notes. Supplies: foil, tape.

📋 Print Unit 12’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 13: Flowers

Read: Flowers for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the flower that turned into a fruit — a blossom lost its petals and swelled into something you can eat. What happened in between? The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Follow one flower to fruit: pick a flower on a plant you can revisit, photograph it every few days, and journal the change from bloom to fruit. How long did it take, and what visited it along the way?

Portfolio piece: Pressed flower + labeled parts. Supplies: flower, tweezers, heavy book.

📋 Print Unit 13’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 14: Carnivorous Plants

Read: Carnivorous Plants for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the plant that eats bugs — a leaf snapped shut on a fly. Why would a plant need to hunt? The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Work out the economics of carnivory: bogs are so poor in nutrients that a plant pays the energy cost of building traps because the payoff — nitrogen and phosphorus from prey — is worth it. Write the cost-benefit in one paragraph: when does eating meat beat growing roots?

Portfolio piece: Trap log. Supplies: nursery plant or photos, timer, notebook.

📋 Print Unit 14’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 15: Pizza Garden

Read: Pizza Garden for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the pizza that started as seeds — four plants, one bed, and dinner at the end. Can you grow a whole pizza? The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Budget the whole bed: area math, spacing math, seed costs, and a timeline from sowing to first pizza. How much pizza does a 4-by-4 bed actually produce, and what does it cost?

Portfolio piece: Bed plan + herb log (+ budget for teens). Supplies: paper, pot, herb seed or seedling.

📋 Print Unit 15’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 16: Trees

Read: Trees for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the tree that keeps a diary — a stump is covered in rings. What story are the rings telling? The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Research your tree’s species: how tall it gets, how long it lives, and what eats it or shelters in it. Write the tree’s life story in one page, from seed to old age.

Portfolio piece: Tree profile + bark and leaf sketches. Supplies: string, ruler, notebook.

📋 Print Unit 16’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 17: Herbs

Read: Herbs for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the leaves that smell like dinner — rub a leaf and your fingers smell like pizza, toothpaste, or a tiny forest. Which herb is which? The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Test drying methods: dry one herb three ways (air-dried, oven-low, and fresh-frozen) and compare which keeps the most scent after a week. Write up the winner like a real experiment.

Portfolio piece: Smell test results + drying comparison. Supplies: herb leaves, notebook.

📋 Print Unit 17’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 18: Grow Your First Garden

Read: Grow Your First Garden for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the first garden — a patch of dirt, five moves, and real food at the end. What makes a first garden work? The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Budget the patch: seed cost, soil cost, water estimate, and what the harvest would cost at the store. Did your garden pay for itself, and does that even matter?

Portfolio piece: Garden log + photos or sketches. Supplies: seeds, pot or bed, soil, notebook.

📋 Print Unit 18’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 19: Wildflowers

Read: Wildflowers for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the lawn that fed nobody — one corner went wild and suddenly bees, butterflies, and birds moved in. What changed? The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Compare pollinator visits: fifteen minutes at the wild patch versus fifteen minutes on a lawn, same day. Tally the difference and write one paragraph on what it means.

Portfolio piece: Wild patch survey + comparison tally. Supplies: notebook, timer.

📋 Print Unit 19’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 20: Moss & Lichen

Read: Moss & Lichen for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the three tiny worlds — green velvet, orange crust, and gray-green hair, all called “moss.” Only one of them really is. The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Map lichen in three spots (a tree, a rock, a fence) and compare: which spot has the most kinds? Lichens are clean-air detectives — what is your map telling you about your air?

Portfolio piece: Tiny-world sketches + lichen map. Supplies: notebook, magnifier.

📋 Print Unit 20’s data sheet (PDF)

Subject 3: Creatures Great & Small

The workers, neighbors, and wild things that share the garden — pollinators, hunters, singers, and the ones you respect from a distance.

Unit 21: Pollinators

Read: Pollinators for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the flower that turned into an apple — something carried yellow dust from flower to flower. Find the courier. The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Run a visit-rate study: count visits per flower per 10 minutes on two different flower types, repeat on a second day, and chart the comparison. Do pollinators prefer one shape or color?

Portfolio piece: Ranked pollinator menu (+ chart for teens). Supplies: notebook, timer.

📋 Print Unit 21’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 22: Good Bugs, Bad Bugs

Read: Good Bugs, Bad Bugs for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the chewed kale — something is eating holes in the leaves, and something else is eating the eater. Sort the heroes from the troublemakers. The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Write a pest-management plan for one crop you actually grow: the pest, how you will spot it, how much damage you will tolerate before acting, and your response ladder from least to most intervention. The Academy guide IPM: The Whole Pyramid is the grown-up version of this thinking.

Portfolio piece: Five ally cards (+ pest plan for teens). Supplies: cards, pencils.

📋 Print Unit 22’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 23: Frogs & Toads

Read: Frogs & Toads for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the jelly blobs in the pond — something laid eggs that turned into swimmers, then hoppers. Follow the makeover. The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Research why frogs are indicator species: a life split between water and land plus permeable skin makes them early warnings for ecosystem health. Write up one local example of what frog populations can tell us.

Portfolio piece: Dip notes + release record. Supplies: net or jar, notebook.

📋 Print Unit 23’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 24: Lizards & Skinks

Read: Lizards & Skinks for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the flashing fence post — something solar-powered is doing push-ups and waving a pink flag. Find the lizard. The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

🛠️ Extra build — Lizard Habitat: Make a habitat for garden lizards — sunny rocks, log piles, leaf litter, and a shallow water dish, all wild and open so lizards can come and go. The watch-only rule still applies: look, don’t grab.

Stretch (Teen): Log basking behavior against temperature over a week and graph it. When do lizards bask, when do they hide, and what does the pattern say about cold-blooded temperature control?

Portfolio piece: Color log (+ graph for teens; habitat sketch or build log if you build one). Supplies: notebook (plus rocks, logs, and leaf litter for the habitat build).

📋 Print Unit 24’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 25: Good Snakes, Bad Snakes

Read: Good Snakes, Bad Snakes for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the garden hose that moved — something legless is doing pest control in the yard. Learn it on the page, not in the field. The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Research venom versus constriction as hunting strategies, and why the coral-snake rhyme is unreliable for identification. Include real bite first aid: call emergency services fast, keep the person calm and still, and do not apply tourniquets, cut, or try to suck out venom.

Portfolio piece: Safety poster. Supplies: poster paper, markers.

📋 Print Unit 25’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 26: Backyard Birds

Read: Backyard Birds for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the morning racket — something red, something blue, and something tiny with a giant song are all arguing in the yard. Learn their names. The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Turn two weeks of watches into a simple bar chart: species on one axis, sightings on the other. Which bird owns your yard, and does the winner change after a rainstorm?

Portfolio piece: Bird watch log + one bird sketch. Supplies: notebook, pencil, optional binoculars.

📋 Print Unit 26’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 27: The Night Shift

Read: The Night Shift for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the garden that wakes up after bedtime — something glows, something flutters, and something squeaks too high to hear. Meet the night crew. The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Do a yard light audit: map every outdoor light, note which ones shine all night, and propose three changes that would help moths and bats without making the yard unsafe.

Portfolio piece: Night log + light map. Supplies: notebook, flashlight.

📋 Print Unit 27’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 28: Chickens

Read: Chickens for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the egg that sang — something in the yard lays breakfast, hunts bugs, and announces it to the whole neighborhood. Meet the hardest workers in the yard. The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Run the backyard-egg math: look up feed prices, estimate one hen’s yearly feed cost, and compare it to a year of store eggs. Are backyard eggs cheaper, or is something else the real payoff?

Portfolio piece: Egg comparison notes + coop plan. Supplies: eggs, bowls, paper, pencil.

📋 Print Unit 28’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 29: Spiders

Read: Spiders for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the web that rebuilt itself overnight — something with eight legs spun a wheel out of its own body. Find the engineer. The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Stake out one web for thirty minutes and tally everything it catches (and everything that escapes). What does the catch tell you about where the spider chose to build?

Portfolio piece: Web sketches + survey notes. Supplies: notebook, magnifier.

📋 Print Unit 29’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 30: Backyard Mammals

Read: Backyard Mammals for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the midnight trash-can bandit — something with hands opened the lid, and something else buried a tree by accident. Follow the signs. The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Smooth a patch of bare dirt near a fence or hedge and check it each morning for a week. Sketch every new print set and build a visitor calendar for your yard.

Portfolio piece: Sign log + print sketches. Supplies: notebook, ruler, pencil.

📋 Print Unit 30’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 31: Ants

Read: Ants for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the vanishing crumbs — a crumb dropped on the path is gone in minutes, carried off by a marching line of ants. Who sent for it? The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Repeat the crumb test three times at different times of day with a timer, and record counts at five minutes and fifteen minutes. Do ants prefer the same food morning and evening?

Portfolio piece: Trail map + crumb test results. Supplies: crumbs, notebook, timer.

📋 Print Unit 31’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 32: Snails & Slugs

Read: Snails & Slugs for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the silver trails — shiny lines wind across the path, and soft leaves are nibbled overnight. Who was out while we slept? The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Compare hiding spots: count snails and slugs under three different covers (a pot, a board, a leaf pile) on the same morning. Which cover wins, and why do you think so?

Portfolio piece: Census table + shell sketches. Supplies: notebook, magnifier.

📋 Print Unit 32’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 33: Butterflies & Caterpillars

Read: Butterflies & Caterpillars for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the nibbled leaves — a plant's leaves are chewed, and something tiny is hiding underneath. What will it become? The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Compare two flower types: watch each for fifteen minutes and tally butterfly visits. Do butterflies visit both equally, or does one flower win by a landslide?

Portfolio piece: Host plant notes + egg or caterpillar sketches. Supplies: notebook, magnifier.

📋 Print Unit 33’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 34: Bees

Read: Bees for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the dancing bee — a bee comes home from the flowers and dances, and suddenly the whole hive knows where to go. How does the dance work? The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Compare morning and afternoon: same plant, same fifteen minutes, two tallies. Do bees work the same shift all day, or does the crowd change?

Portfolio piece: Bee tally + flower notes. Supplies: notebook, timer.

📋 Print Unit 34’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 35: Beetles

Read: Beetles for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the armored gardener — something small and hard-shelled is hiding under the log, and one in four animals on Earth is one of these. Is it a beetle? The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Run a night beetle watch with a flashlight for twenty minutes and log what shows up after dark versus what you found in daylight. Same yard, different shift.

Portfolio piece: Beetle sketches + day and night logs. Supplies: notebook, magnifier, flashlight.

📋 Print Unit 35’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 36: Bats

Read: Bats for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the fluttering shadows — as the birds settle down for the night, fluttery shapes appear over the yard. Birds, or something else? The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Research your local bat species and design a bat-house placement plan: sun exposure, height, distance from water, and why each choice matters. Draw it like a builder’s plan.

Portfolio piece: Dusk log + placement plan. Supplies: notebook, timer.

📋 Print Unit 36’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 37: Turtles

Read: Turtles for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the landlord's front door — a sandy mound with a half-moon hole, and a slow animal with a shell nearby. Whose home is it, and who else moves in? The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Research the gopher tortoise’s keystone role and write a one-page “landlord” profile: how many other species use its burrows, and what happens to them if the tortoise disappears.

Portfolio piece: Survey log + landlord profile. Supplies: notebook, optional binoculars.

📋 Print Unit 37’s data sheet (PDF)

Subject 4: Water & Weather

Florida runs on rain. The water cycle, ponds, rain gardens, and the seasons rain makes — wet May through October, dry November through April.

Unit 38: The Water Cycle

Read: Water Cycle for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the vanishing puddle — it rained this morning, but by lunchtime the puddle is gone. Where did the water go? The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Build a rain gauge, measure a real storm, and calculate your roof’s runoff with the roof math from Catch the Rain: one inch on 1,000 square feet is about 620 gallons. How many gallons fell on your house last night?

Portfolio piece: Jar weather log. Supplies: jar, water, plant cutting, notebook.

📋 Print Unit 38’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 39: Pond Life

Read: Pond Life for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the walker on water — something skates across the pond without getting its feet wet, while something else hunts below. Who is who in the pond? The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Draw a food web of the pond you watched: who eats whom, from duckweed up to the biggest bird. Mark every link you actually saw with a star.

Portfolio piece: Pond log + food web diagram. Supplies: notebook, optional binoculars.

📋 Print Unit 39’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 40: Seasons

Read: Seasons for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the backwards seasons — your cousins up north plant tomatoes in spring, but in Florida the tomatoes go in when everyone else's garden is winding down for fall. Backwards, or Florida-smart? The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Start a twelve-month weather and planting chart and keep it going: one row per month, rain days, first harvests, last harvests. By next year you will have your own Florida almanac.

Portfolio piece: Season journal week + chart start. Supplies: notebook, pencil.

📋 Print Unit 40’s data sheet (PDF)

Unit 41: Rain Gardens

Read: Rain Gardens for Kids

🔍 The Case: The case of the runaway rain — rain rushes off the roof, down the driveway, and into the street, carrying dirt with it. Where could it go instead? The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Measure the slope from the downspout to the wet spot with string and a ruler, and size the bowl on paper: length, width, and how deep. Show your math.

Portfolio piece: Flow sketch + rain-garden plan. Supplies: notebook, string, ruler.

📋 Print Unit 41’s data sheet (PDF)

Subject 5: Design

Soil, plants, creatures, and water are what a garden is made of. Design is what turns them into a plan: spotting the patterns nature repeats, reading what your own yard is telling you, shaping the ground, keeping the harvest, and cooking what you grew.

Unit 42: Patterns in the Garden

Read: Patterns in the Garden

🔍 The Case: The case of the copycat shapes — the same four shapes keep showing up all over the garden. Find them all. The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Count the spiral arms curving left and right on a sunflower head (or a pinecone) and compare the two numbers; log the counts and what you notice about them.

Portfolio piece: Four pattern sketches with labels. Supplies: notebook, pencil.

📋 Print Unit 42’s packet

Unit 43: Reading the Landscape

Read: Reading the Landscape

🔍 The Case: The case of the yard that talks — your yard is telling a story about sun, water, and wind. Read it. The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Track one sunny spot and one shady spot at three times in one day (morning, midday, late afternoon) and log how the light moves.

Portfolio piece: Yard clue map + sun-tracking log. Supplies: notebook, pencil.

📋 Print Unit 43’s packet

Unit 44: Design Your Own Yard

Read: Design Your Own Yard

🔍 The Case: The case of the yard that feeds itself — draw a yard on purpose, where every plant lives in the spot it loves best. The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Measure the yard in footsteps, put a scale on the map, and budget the plants: how many fit, what they cost, and when each one goes in.

Portfolio piece: Design map (+ budget for teens). Supplies: paper, pencil, ruler.

📋 Print Unit 44’s packet

Unit 45: Berms, Swales & Paths

Read: Berms, Swales & Paths

🔍 The Case: The case of the runaway rain — after a storm, the water races away instead of soaking in. Slow it down. The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Measure how much water your model swale holds before it overflows, and sketch a full-size version for a real wet spot with measurements.

Portfolio piece: Water-flow sketch + model photo or drawing. Supplies: tray or sandbox, soil, watering can, notebook.

📋 Print Unit 45’s packet

Unit 46: Keep It for Later

Read: Keep It for Later

🔍 The Case: The case of the forty tomatoes — the garden ripened everything at once. Save it before it spoils. The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Compare dried vs. fresh herb scent after seven days — same herb, both forms, sniffed blind — and write up which kept more scent and why you think so.

Portfolio piece: Preservation log (what, how, when, how it kept). Supplies: herbs, string, ice-cube tray, freezer bags, jar.

📋 Print Unit 46’s packet

Unit 47: Cook What You Grew

Read: Cook What You Grew

🔍 The Case: The case of the dinner that grew itself — tonight's meal is hiding in the garden. Find it and cook it. The packet’s clues teach you what to look for — including the lookalikes to rule out.

Stretch (Teen): Cost the meal against store prices and write the recipe in your own words, with the garden jobs and the grown-up jobs marked.

Portfolio piece: Meal plan + recipe. Supplies: harvest basket, notebook.

📋 Print Unit 47’s packet

The Portfolio Log

Copy this table into a notebook, print it, or keep it as a document. One row per unit (or per session, if a unit stretches across weeks). Keep the log and the portfolio pieces together in a folder — physical or digital, your choice — and you have an evaluation-ready record without a last-minute scramble.

📄 Download the printable portfolio log (PDF) — all 47 units pre-listed, with room to write, plus blank rows for extra sessions. Print it, stick it in the portfolio folder, and fill it in as you go.

📋 Download the unit data sheets (PDF) — one recording sheet for every unit, matched to what that unit asks you to record, including the Unit 1 fair-test data table. Print the whole pack or just the sheet for the unit you are on.

📓 The Living Root Garden Journal (PDF) — the general garden journal for the whole family: planting, soil, harvest, weather, and year-in-review logs. It pairs with the portfolio log — one tracks the schoolwork, the other tracks the garden.

Date	Unit	What we did	What we noticed	Portfolio piece filed
___/___/___
___/___/___
___/___/___
___/___/___
___/___/___

For Florida families: the portfolio the state expects is a log of educational activities made as you go (including titles of reading materials — the guide titles above count) plus samples of the student’s work, kept for two years and available for inspection on 15 days’ written notice, with an annual evaluation filed once a year. This log plus the 47 portfolio pieces covers both halves. For other states: your rules differ, and a quick check with your state’s home education association will tell you what to keep.

A Short Guide for Parents

What “done” looks like. A unit is done when the guide is read, the mission is attempted, and one log row plus one portfolio piece exist. Not when it is perfect. A wilted seed row with a log entry explaining why it wilted is a better portfolio piece than a perfect row with no notes — the notes are where the learning shows.

Multiple kids. Run one unit for everyone. Sprouts crack the case; teens do the case plus the Stretch. The teen’s data table and the sprout’s sketch go in the same folder, and both count.

No grades needed. If your state requires an evaluation, it is almost always a portfolio review or a standardized test, not grades you invent. The log is the evaluation prep. If you want a record of progress, the log rows themselves show it: compare Unit 1’s sketch to Unit 8’s notes and the growth is visible.

Bad weather, bad weeks. The program bends. Rain cancels a mission? Swap in a reading-only day, or jump to a unit whose mission works indoors (Unit 2’s blueprint, Unit 5’s research, Unit 25’s poster). A missed week is not a failed program; it is a garden, and gardens have weather.

Safety rules, stated once and plainly:never touch a wild snake; never handle frogs or toads; never wild-collect carnivorous plants; never pour leachate on plants; never drink untreated roof or barrel water; adult supervision for the iodine starch test and for any pond dipping. The units repeat the relevant rule where it applies, but these six cover the whole program.

Questions, Answered Straight

Is this accredited? Can my teen earn credit? No, and that distinction matters. This program is a curriculum, not a school. Homeschool credit is awarded by parents under their state’s rules, and many families pair a curriculum like this with their own transcript or an umbrella school. If a program promises you accredited credit without being an accredited school, walk away.

What does it cost? Nothing. Every guide, case, and log sheet on this page is free. Cases use household items and a yard.

What ages is it for? Sprout level roughly 6–11, teen level roughly 12 and up. Parents know their kids; adjust up or down freely.

Do we need worm castings, a worm bin, or anything from the shop? No. Nothing in the 47 units requires a purchase. If you already have a bin or castings, some missions get richer — but none of them depend on it.

How is this different from the kids subscription box? The box (in development) is a physical companion: materials and printed activity cards delivered over time. This program is the free, standalone curriculum. The box’s written activities are separate from the missions here — this program’s missions were written for it, and the box keeps its own.

Can we start anytime? Yes. There are no terms, cohorts, or start dates. Start at Unit 1, or start at whatever unit matches your season, and go at your pace.

Is this only for Florida families? No. The units work anywhere with dirt. Florida notes appear where Florida is genuinely different (sandy soil, the Cuban treefrog, the portfolio rules); everything else travels.