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Gardens
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include your favorite garden activity in this theme!
*Flowers
*Art
Flower Petal Designs
Need: toilet paper rolls, construction paper, bright paint
Have the children glue pre-cut flower pot shapes onto the bottom of a
piece of black construction paper. Dip a slightly flattened toilet
paper roll into brightly colored paint, and stamp it onto the paper,
stamping the "petals" in a circle, creating a flower
design. The children can paint a stem, or use a green pipe cleaner
for a stem. Use sponges cut as leaves for the leaf stamp, finishing
off the activity.
Contributed By: Terra Vaughn
Blossoms
Sponge paint blossoms on crayoned tree trunks drawn on construction paper.
Easel
Cut easel paper into flower shapes.
*Learning Centers
Flower Arranging
Artificial flowers and containers can be placed in the dramatic play
area. The children can make centerpieces for the classroom tables.
Sensory table
Add sand (or soil) and plastic flowers to the sensory table.
Can place water and watering cans in the sensory table.
*Science
Flowers
Place a variety of flowers on the science table. The children can
compare the color, shape, size, and smell of each flower.
Planting Seeds
Plant flower seeds in a styrofoam cup. Save the seed packages and
mount on a piece of tagboard. Place this directly behind the
containers on the science table. The children can compare their
plants. When the plants start growing compare the seed packages to
the plant growth.
*Other Sites
Printables
Flower
Sequence Cards to Print - planting, growing a flower
Circles flower-trace the circles
Berenstain Bears Gardening color page
*Fruit
*Learning Centers
Vegetable-Fruit Stand
Set out a variety of plastic fruits and vegetable. Set up a shopping
area with carts, cash registers, and play money. Provide a balance
scale for children to weigh the produce.
*Legumes
*Fingerplays/Songs
A Peanut Sat on a Railroad Track (song)
A peanut sat on a railroad track,
Its heart was all a-flutter.
Engine Nine came down the track,
Toot! Toot! Peanut butter!
*Art
Climb Right Up!
Need: Brown and green construction paper, scissors, markers, glue.
Invite children to cut, tear, and draw pictures of beans, bean
sprouts, and bean stalks to decorate under the window in the science
area. Encourage children to think about what they might find if they
could climb to the top of their bean stalks.
*Movement
Grow like a bean!
Great activity to do after reading the story "Jack and the Beanstalk".
Need: Cassettes of rhythmic instrumental music.
Can children imagine they are magical, growing beans? Put on the
music and encourage them to move their bodies as if they were just
sprouting and then growing into strong, tall plants.
*Vegetable
*Science
Colored Celery
In clear containers place several celery stalks with leaves. In each
container add water and drops of different colors of food coloring.
The leaves of the celery should turn colors in a few hours.
Try splitting a celery stalk in half, but do not spit the stalk all
the way up to the top. Put one half of the stalk in red water, and
the other half in blue water. Watch what happens to the leaves.
*Movement
The Big Turnip-Creative Dramatics
After reading the story "The Great Big Enormous Turnip",
dramatize the story. Pass out identifying pieces of clothing for each
character. Hats work well for people and collars or signs for the
animals. Retell the story, letting the children act the story out.
Use as many characters as you have children. This would be a good
outdoors activity.
The Great Big Enormous Turnip Movement Activity
Pair children and tell them to face each other holding hands. One
child, pretending to be the farmer, stands straight. The other child
pretending to be a turnip, squats.
The farmers chant:
Grow little turnip,
grow sweet.
Grow little turnip,
grow strong.
I'll pull and pull
and pull and pull,
'Til you pop right
out of the ground.
On the last line, the turnip pops up and the farmer squats down. Let
children change partners after each round.
*Potatoes
Science
Sweet Potato Plants
Help children insert 3 to 4 toothpicks horizontally around the middle
of a sweet potato. Then balance the toothpicks on the rims of glass
jars and add enough water to cover the bottom parts of their potatoes.
Keep water filled to this level. In about 2 weeks vines will begin to
sprout and the children will have sweet potato plants.
Movement
Potato Hop
Cut ten large potato shapes from brown construction paper and number
them from 1 to 10. Tape the shapes to the floor in from number 1 to
10. Let the children take turns hopping from one potato to the next
as everyone chants the rhyme below.
One potato, two potato,
Three potato, four,
Five potato, six potato,
Seven potato, more,
Eight potato, nine potato,
Here is ten.
Now let's start all over again.
*Watermelon
*Art
Watermelon Art
Give each child a green construction paper circle and a red
construction paper circle (slightly smaller). Have the children glue
the red circle onto the green circle. Then have the children glue
watermelon seeds or black paper punch circles all over their red circles.
Use the recipe"The
Best Cooked Play Dough" and add watermelon flavored kool-aid
or jello.
*Science/Math
Sink or Float
Have students predict whether or not the watermelon will float in a
tub of water. Record predictions and then place the watermelon in the
tub of water
Weight
Have each student lift the watermelon and estimate how much it
weighs. Write down the estimates and check with a scale.
How Many Seeds?
Have each student estimate the number of seeds in the watermelon.
Write down predictions. After the watermelon is cut and eaten, be
sure to save all the seeds. In groups have the children place 10
seeds in a cup. Then gather the cups and place the "tens"
into hundreds and figure out the final total of seeds.
Planting watermelon Seeds
Have children plant watermelon seeds in egg cartons, small cups, or
small milk cartons; use potting soil.
*Other Sites
National
Watermelon Promoting Board
Watermelon
finger puppets and Coloring Books to print and color.
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