This week’s theme … GARDENING AND PLANTS
Find this week’s activity plan here!
Monday, Explore in Books –
One of my favorite tall tales is the story of Johnny Appleseed. As with all tall tales, there are many tellings and books about Johnny Appleseed, but one of my favorite retellings is the one by Steven Kellogg. I will admit that Steven Kellogg is one of my favorite authors, and I have a signed copy of one of his Pinkerton books. There is something whimsical about his illustrations that capture the story so perfectly.
It does not need to be Steven Kellogg’s version about Johnny Appleseed if you have another favorite author who has written about this tall tale figure. Don’t forget, while you read, to ask questions about who, what, and where. These are important preschool and early reader traits to learn.
As a follow up activity, have apple slices as a snack. Examine the apple seed, cut a few in half to see what the seeds look like on the inside, and even plant a few of the seeds in your garden or a little plastic cup with soil and watch them sprout.
Tuesday, Science Activity –
There are several different ways to do this activity and all you need is a variety of different types of seeds. The whole idea of this activity is to have kids examine size, shape, color, and other attributes of the seeds and to correctly sort them into groups with similar seeds.
If you have older kids and want to up the ante some, you can use cups with tongs or spoons to work on fine motor skills as they sort the seeds.
Wednesday, Excursion –
If you have an arboretum in your area, this is a great week to check it out. When you go on, talk about the different flowers and trees, the different shapes of the leaves, the colors of the different flowers.
At the arboretum in our area, they even have a small fruit and vegetable garden where you and your kids can see how different fruits and vegetables grow, whether above the ground or below, on a vine or a bush, and more features.
If your area does not have an arboretum or similar place, taking a walk through your local park or along a local trail can have the same effect. You will find a variety of trees and flowers to discuss.
Another great excursion opportunity is to go berry picking on a nearby farm. In previous years, I have taken Little Miss and Little Mister to a farm about an hour north of us to pick blackberries and blueberries. Unfortunately, they will not be offering berry picking this year, so we will have to find another farm, but you will be surprised how many farms nearby will offer berry or fruit picking opportunities!
Thursday, Science Activity –
I remember doing leaf etchings with my mom when I was little. We would go and collect a variety of leaves, come home, and use paper and crayons to create little etchings of the backs of the leaves. You can do etchings of a variety of items, but for the purpose of the theme for this week, we will just stick to leaves.
Materials Needed:
- A variety of leaves (Please try to limit these to ones found on the ground rather than pulling them off trees, if possible)
- Crayons without Wrappers
- Paper
Activity Procedure:
- Place leaf on a hard flat surface with the bottom side facing up.
- Place paper on top of leaf.
- Using the side of an unwrapped crayon, gently color on the paper where the leaf is until an etching appears.
Friday, Craft Activity –
There is another part of plants that we see on a much more long term scale. How trees, flowers, and plants change over the year because of the seasons may not be something that we will be able to see within a week, but we can have a discussion about it through this craft activity.
Materials Needed:
- Q-tips
- Blue Paper
- Brown marker
- Green, Red, Yellow, Orange, White, and Pink paint
- Paint Brush
- 4 Plates
Activity Procedure:
- Divide the paper into four quadrants – spring, summer, fall, and winter. In each quadrant, using the brown marker, create a trunks with branches, but do not add leaves of any kind.
- On one plate, put a little green and pink paint; a second plate, a little green paint; a third plate, a little red, yellow, and orange paint; on the final fourth plate, some white paint. Place each plate near its corresponding quadrant. For younger little ones, it may be easier to only present one plate at a time and direct them to which quadrant they will be painting.
- Using the q-tips, create dots with each color as leaves on each tree – leaves and blooms for spring; green leaves for summer; red, yellow, and orange leaves for fall; and white dots for snow falling around the tree.
- Once dry, discuss how the leaves change over time. What colors appear on the tree? When do we see the colors change on trees? What do you think causes these changes? What are other things that go through changes with the seasons?