Spring is in the air and it's time to do a little planting!
The Planting Song
(Tune: “The Farmer in the Dell”
Let’s all plant some seeds, (Pretend to dig.)
Let’s all plant some seeds.
Hi, ho, it’s spring you know,
Let’s all plant some seeds.
The rain begins to fall… (Wiggle fingers down.)
The sun warms the earth…(Arms over head.)
The seeds begin to grow… (Pretend one arm is a plant.)
Growing, Growing!
What does a seed need to grow? Brainstorm with the children and write their responses on the board. Take five cups and draw the following as shown:
soil, water, sun, air
soil, water, air
soil, water, sun
soil, sun, air
sun, air, water
Plant several bean seeds in each cup. Encourage the children to predict what will happen. Observe. Evaluate predictions after several weeks.
Seed Hunt
Brainstorm different seeds that come from foods we eat, such as apples, oranges, sunflowers, avocados, popcorn... Challenge children to look in their kitchens at home and bring in seeds. Plant the seeds in clear cups and label. Place in a sunny window, water, and you might be surprised at what comes up!*We also planted jelly beans and pennies, but alas, they never grew. It was fun experimenting and thinking about eating those jelly beans and spending those pennies!
Seedy Snack
Popcorn, sunflower seeds, pickles, and strawberries! What do they call have in common? They could all be part of a seedy snack. Let the children brainstorm all the things they eat that have seeds.
Eating Plants
Discuss what parts of a plant you eat. What roots do you eat? What leaves? What stems? What flowers? What seeds?
*Divide a sheet of paper into fourths and label, “seeds,” “roots,” “stems,” “flowers.” Have children write or draw different foods they eat from each category.
Dirt Pie
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1SnEagA4jljVkxNQXRFYVRvVUE/view?usp=sharing
I wanted to share this video that Carol and Carol did for parents. It's so insightful and definitely something that parents need to be reminded about.
