Sprout Garden Phase 1: Foundation

Vines and Basic Transformers - The building blocks

Overview

Phase 1 introduces the core mechanics that make everything else possible:

• Flow control via vines (tap to rotate)
• Growth cycles via form growers and color bloomers
• Sequential tending - watch sprouts flow through

This phase teaches: Things flow through paths and change along the way.

Plot Types Introduced

Plot	Symbol	Category	Seeds	Fruits	Behavior
Spring	🌱	source	none	all 4	Emits sprouts
Harvest	🎯	sink	all 4	none	Collects sprouts
Vine (→↓←↑)	➡️⬇️⬅️⬆️	flow	3 dirs	1 dir	Carries unchanged
Form Grower	⚙️	transform	all 4	pass-through	Ripens shape
Color Bloomer	🎨	transform	all 4	pass-through	Blooms color
Splitter	⑂	flow	all 4	perpendicular	Splits 90°

Growth Cycles

Form Cycle (Ripening)

● seedling → ■ sprout → ▲ bloom → ★ fruit → (back to seedling)

Each Form Grower advances one step. Four growers = full cycle.

Color Cycle (Blooming)

🔴 red → 🟢 green → 🔵 blue → 🟡 yellow → (back to red)

Each Color Bloomer advances one step. Four bloomers = full cycle.

Level Progression

Level	Challenge	Teaches
1	Connect spring to harvest	Flow concept
2	One form change	Single transform
3	One color change	Property transforms
4	Two form changes	Chaining
5	Form + color combined	Multiple properties
6	Multiple of each	Planning paths
7	Three form changes	Cycle mechanics
8	Full cycle wrapping	Modular arithmetic
9	Complex path planning	Spatial reasoning
10	Challenge garden!	All skills combined

Source Files

File	Purpose
src/plots/types/spring.js	Sprout emitter
src/plots/types/harvest.js	Sprout collector
src/plots/types/vine.js	Directional carrier (rotatable)
src/plots/types/form-grower.js	Shape transformer
src/plots/types/color-bloomer.js	Color transformer
src/plots/types/splitter.js	Perpendicular splitter

API Documentation

files:
  - /Users/graemefawcett/working/ben.fawcett.family/activities/sprout-garden/src/plots/types/spring.js
  - /Users/graemefawcett/working/ben.fawcett.family/activities/sprout-garden/src/plots/types/harvest.js
  - /Users/graemefawcett/working/ben.fawcett.family/activities/sprout-garden/src/plots/types/vine.js
  - /Users/graemefawcett/working/ben.fawcett.family/activities/sprout-garden/src/plots/types/form-grower.js
  - /Users/graemefawcett/working/ben.fawcett.family/activities/sprout-garden/src/plots/types/color-bloomer.js
  - /Users/graemefawcett/working/ben.fawcett.family/activities/sprout-garden/src/plots/types/splitter.js

❌ Fence Execution Error: "'code-api-docs' - Down the rabbit hole we went, but that node doesn't exist! Try 'oculus list' to see what's available."

Pedagogy

What Kids Learn (Without Knowing It)

• Sequential processing: Things happen in order
• State machines: Objects have properties that change
• Modular arithmetic: Cycles wrap around
• Spatial reasoning: Paths through 2D space
• Debugging: "Why did my sprout go there?"

Visual Feedback

• Sprouts animate through paths
• Current cell highlights during growth
• Trace panel shows full journey
• Properties panel reveals plot internals

Verification

Live Vitest Results (33 tests)

TableConfig:
  array_path: table
  columns:
    Test: 0
    Status: 1
    Time: 2
  format: markdown

❌ Fence Execution Error: Invalid graphnode fence format: graphnode

Static Analysis (File Structure)

Test	Status	Details
spring.js exists	fail	file not found
harvest.js exists	fail	file not found
vine.js exists	fail	file not found
form-grower.js exists	fail	file not found
color-bloomer.js exists	fail	file not found
splitter.js exists	fail	file not found

Summary: Tests verify all Phase 1 plot types - spring, harvest, vine (all 4 directions), form-grower, color-bloomer, and splitter.

Slots

North

slots:
- sprout-garden

South

slots:
- sprout-garden-phase-1-test

East

slots:
- sprout-garden-phase-2

West

slots: []