Youth Programs

Activities for Growing with Youth

Want to add a little fascination to your child’s life or classroom? Our youth programs offer a wide spectrum of educational opportunities in partnership with Elm Fork Chapter Texas Master Naturalists and Denton County 4 -H.

Science With Attitude (SWAt)

SWAt is a year-round program providing individualized supplemental education on various horticultural and environmental science topics for the classroom and other educational and community venues. Master Gardeners, working jointly with Elm Fork Master Naturalist and 4-H volunteers, utilize research-based curricula aligning with standardized tests to enhance science, reading, and math. In addition to working with Youth, SWAt conducts professional development workshops for teachers and parent volunteers from area public and private schools and home-based education programs.

SWAt’s Educational Outreach Program provides stand-alone curriculum enrichment opportunities that are volunteer-led to support topics being taught in the classroom and align with state standards in math, science and reading. All of SWAt’s program kits include a TEK’s driven lesson plan, directions for the corresponding activity, and all needed materials. This is all free to you, your school, or your association. Our presentations run approximately 30-45 minutes, and most lessons fit with K-6 curriculums, but some can be reworked for presentations in middle and high school. They are available for checkout if you prefer to work the program kit independently.

Global Gardeners

Global Gardeners is a multi-disciplinary program for Youth in partnership with Beulah Acres. The curriculum includes recycling, composting, crafts, physical exercises, cooking, soil prep, rainwater harvesting, wildlife habitats, pollination, and more. During this after-school program, students can build on their knowledge in three levels of classes taught by Master Gardeners and Master Naturalists.

Denton County Youth Fair

Working with Denton County 4-H and Future Farmers of America, DCMGA coordinates the horticultural show and judges’ horticultural entries in 10 categories for quality and conformance to standards. Master Gardeners assist with registering and documenting the entries and help the entrants learn to manage the plant to obtain the best result by show time. On show day, DCMGA volunteers judge the entries.