At first glance, implementing the new Common Core Standards, with their dramatically higher learning expectations for early elementary students, may seem like a daunting task. The authors of this article think there has never been a better time for K-2 teachers to begin developing lessons that integrate all disciplines, promote higher order thinking, and make purposeful use of new technologies. Interdisciplinary instruction challenges students to think critically. It requires teachers and students to collaborate with peers and experts, both inside and outside of the school setting. Higher-level instruction also lends itself to the type of student inquiry inspired by project-based and place-based education. Both approaches are based on student inquiry into real-life questions and lead to long-term, multifaceted projects. This article explores the ongoing work of Amanda, a first grade teacher, and her efforts to integrate these ideas into a technology-based, integrated unit of study focused on school gardening. In what began as a journey to find thoughtful applications of technology in her classroom, Amanda was able to bring social studies, language arts, mathematics, and science together in a hands-on, inquiry-based unit. This article invites early elementary teachers to adapt some of these activities for their students, or to use them as inspiration for wholly new teaching activities.