Garden Fun

We've been having a fun month with Mother Goose Time learning about gardens.  We've talked about soil, sun and water, worms, seeds, stems, the list goes on and on.  

We always start the day with circle time where we look at the topic poster and discuss what we know.  The kids take turns picking out the weather, day of the week, and date.  We also read a related book on the topic during this time.

After circle time we work on the art project for the day.  This way they have time to dry if paint it used.  The kids loved using rubber worms to paint giant worm pictures.  

They also made root pictures using cupcake liners, string and buttons.

When we learned about stems they made growing onions using paper plates, tissue paper and straws.  

All month long the kids work in they my little journals.  They practice writing the letters and numbers of the month and do work on the monthly color and shape.

I leave the theme poster up within easy reach so the kids can look at it and ask questions all month long.  They also used the look and find glasses to figure out where different items were on the poster.

Every monthly box from Mother Goose Time comes with 2 new manipulatives.  This month came with base 10 blocks, that have been used for measuring, patterning and counting so far.

Soil

We finally started Mays' growing gardens theme with Mother Goose Time.  Day 1 focused on soil.

During circle time we talked about the weather, day of the week, completed our calendar and figured out the pattern, and talked about things that grown and live in soil.

We also read The Tiny Seed, which was the suggested book for today.

After circle time we moved into the daily activities, each day has 3 suggested activities as well as a STEAM station idea. 

We went outside to make soil collages using nature items.  After the pictures dried picture frames were added.  The kids had fun collecting their own items and deciding where to glue them.

Since it was the first day of a new theme the kids were given new name tags and practiced writing their names. 

We finished up with seed exploration. I left a bunch of seeds out on the table for the kids to examine, feel, count etc. by themselves.  We also talked about the different types of seeds we eat.  Tomorrow we learn about seeds so this was a good introduction to the topic.  

Produce

Mother Goose Time's day number nine topic was produce.  It actually took us two days to finish all the activities because we wound up taking a field trip.   The girls made their own little gardens out of  egg cartons that they painted the day before.  Then they looked at a magazine with different produce and used construction paper to make their own food items that they "planted" with popsicle sticks. We talked about what gardens need to grow, and Addie put hers by her window so it could get light.  Both girls loved these little gardens and have played with them numerous times since they were made.

Elli was very excited to see produce she likes

I made Elli's produce and helped her tape them together.

Addie made everything herself.

Next I brought out the pattern cards.  Addie completed the pattern and then made her own.  Elli came up with her own way to use the cards, by finding the matching produce picture to put on the pattern card.

Who else likes to eat food from gardens?  Rabbits.  The girls were so happy to finally use the rabbit manipulatives that came in this months box.  They've already played with them a lot since we received it.  I love that the manipulatives are things the girls can use over and over again, even once we're done with the moths theme.  I put produce photos around the room and put the rabbits near them.  The girls stood on the other side of the room and then ran and collected one rabbit at a time and brought it back to the start side.  They had to catch the rabbits before they ate all the produce.  they LOVED this game and we played it a bunch of times.  After awhile Addie thought it would be a good idea if we used a few rabbits and have me move them while she and Elli can around trying to collect them.

We took a trip to a local store, The Farmer's Daughter.  It's a beautiful store that sells fresh produce, flowers, and all kinds of locally made foods.  Addie asked to bring the camera and take pictures herself.  It was neat to see the picture taken from her perspective.

Photos taken by Addie

The following day we created our own produce store.  The girls picked the produce they wanted to sell and then I wrote prices for everything.  I gave the girls money and they had to buy the food they wanted within their budget.  Obviously Elli didn't understand this, and just took whatever she wanted. I worked with Addie on making proper change and learning money denominations.

stealing money

An InLinkz Link-up

Flowers

Both my girls love flowers, so I knew today's Mother Goose Time lesson would be a hit.  We looked at our letter F cards and then set out the flower on one end of the room and the letter F on the other side.  I put cotton balls all over the flower and the girls used tongs to pick up a cotton ball, run to the other side, and pollinate the letter F.  We talked about how flowers attract insects to the plants to pollinate them. They played this for a very long time.  At first I had them try taking turns, but Elli didn't really understand that she needed to wait, so eventually it just turned into a free for all. 

After they were sufficiently exhausted, they used the pattern blocks and shape mats to create flowers.

If you could be a flower, what color would you want to be?  Addie said purple, and Elli pointed to the purple and red paint.  They created their own flower costumes, complete with flower headband and leaf hands. Then we danced to the dance n' beats DVD.

adding the sunflower seeds

time to dance

We also completed the my little journal letter F page and Addie did her workbooks.  We didn't finish all the activities planned for today, since the girls spent so much time playing the pollination game and then dancing.  It's always a good lesson when your kids don't want to stop.

An InLinkz Link-up

Sprouts, Stems and Leaves

The girls have been having so much fun with this months Mother Goose Time theme, growing gardens.  They are so excited for the lessons and my oldest is always asking if we can do more.  The past few days we've been learning about sprouts, stems, and leaves.  The girls have sang songs, danced, completed art projects, done experiments, played games, read books, practiced writing, and just had an overall great time learning. Incorporating so many different learning styles really helps reinforce the lessons.

One of their favorite things we did was when we went on a walk looking for different stems.  They collected a bunch, which we brought home.  They each picked 2 of their favorites to trace and measure, and we were able to do all this outside while enjoying the beautiful weather.

picking plants with stems

measuring a dandelion stem

They also created their own seed stories by making a fingerprint and then adding roots, stems, leaves, etc.

We tried the celery experiment, where you put celery in colored water and the leaves change color.  Unfortunately I could only find celery with a tiny bit of leaves, and I don't think it was fresh enough to work well.  We left it in water for 3 days with only a tiny change to the leaf edges.

Luckily I found this youtube video that shows the results much better.

The second experiment we tried worked much better.  We put a plastic bag around some leaves and after about an hour we already had water forming on the inside.  This was a great way to show the girls that plants lose water through their leaves. 

The girls also made their own bean plants using the provided supplies.

We observed real plants that we've been growing:  sunflowers, peas and wheat.  The girls like the wheat because it was grown in a tube with a paper towel so you can see everything on it.  The seed, roots, and stem are all clearly visible.

And of course the girls also played games and completed workbooks.

playing a leaf shape hunting game

working on their my little journals

workbooks

Blogger:

An InLinkz Link-up