Roots

 Today Mother Goose Time had us learning about roots.  Roots deliver nutrients to plants.  Some plants, like moss, have tiny roots.  Other plants, like trees, have huge roots.  We set out to explore and see what kinds of roots we could find.  We wound up collecting moss, dandelions, and some other plants to look at.

First we looked at a birch tree root.

Addie studied a dandelion root.

Elli was more interested in the woolly bear.

We came inside and read Lettuce Turnip the Beet!  It's the provided book this month and it was filled with jokes about produce.  Addie thought it was funny and Elli liked counting the food on each page.

We looked at the letter Y card set and talked about yams.  The girls didn't know what a yam was, but Addie correctly guessed they grow underground.  They took turns searching for and then digging up a yam that I hid.

Then they made their own yams by gluing pulled apart yarn onto their yam shapes.  It was suggested that they also glue dirt on them, but Addie said her yam had been cleaned and was ready to eat.

The girls also looked at roots some more, and traced them on paper.

The girls completed the y page of their My Little Journal.  They drew the letter y and then added yam fingerprints to the top of the y, giving it roots.

We talked about how water moves through a plant and used the discove science card for an experiment to better illustrate how roots work.  To do this at home just fill 2 clear cups with water and add different food coloring to each.  Put an empty cup in the middle.  twist 2 paper towels and stick 1 end in the empty cup and 1 end in the cup with food coloring.  After a few minutes the water travels up the paper towel and mixes in the empty cup.  Addie thought the experiment was really neat and asked if we can do it again tomorrow.  Elli liked mixing the colored water with her carrot.

We also read a couple books about gardens and Addie completed her more math and reading workbooks.

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Sun and Water

Every day we start off our Mother Goose Time lesson with circle time.  The girls put up the date and pick the weather out.  Then I put up the daily picture and we talk about the topic question.  Today's was "How do you think sunshine helps plants grows?"  We talked about how plants need sun and water to live.

We talked about plants and looked at some potted plants and an assortment of fruits and vegetables.  We talked about how you can eat different parts of plants (seeds, bulbs, roots, leaves, stems and flowers) and the girls separated their food onto their plant placemat.  Then they ate some of it as a snack.

Next the girls checked on their grass seed, which sprouted this morning, and recorded their results on their tracking sheet. 

The girls looked outside at plants that grow in the shade versus the sun and drew a picture on the cover of this months my little journal. 

Next it was time to get up and moving. The girls would pick a number card and take the appropriate number of steps to either the sun or raindrop we use in circle time.  If they didn't make it all the way to the rain they would pretend to shrivel up from having too much sun.  If they didn't get to the sun they would pretend to float away in water.

shriveled up from too much sun

After that we talked about how people, just like plants, need water to survive.  Preschoolers generally need 6 glasses of water a day. We measured it out and they couldn't believe how much water they need.

Whoa, that's a lot of water

Better start drinking

Addie worked on her more math and reading workbooks while Elli sorted blue and yellow shapes and worked on counting.

We ended the day by reading some books about plants.

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Seeds

I had so much fun with the girls today learning about seeds.  It was such a beautiful day so we started off outside looking at and sorting different types of seeds.

We also planted a herb garden and started some seeds that we'll move into our garden when it warms up.  The girls had so much fun playing in the dirt and "helping" me plant everything.  I love that Mother Goose Time provides ideas for outdoor activities in every lesson, in this case planting an herb garden. It's great to be able to stay on track with the lessons while taking full advantage of the great weather we're having.

After spending hours outside we came in and the girls used the provided geometric shape pieces to create designs.  Addie decided she wanted to make a daisy.  I was very impressed with her creativity and how she was able to utilize the shapes to create her own flower.  After she was done she helped Elli separate the shapes into piles based on color. 

Next we talked about what kind of clothes you would wear to garden and then the girls created pictures of themselves gardening.

I read Jack and the Beanstalk to the girls and then asked the included comprehension questions.  After I read it Addie used the story telling set to retell the story to Elli and me.

I soaked bean seeds over night and cut them open for the girls to see what they looked like.  We also stuck some wheat seeds in tubes with paper towels that absorb water.  We'll check on them throughout the month and will hopefully be able to see the roots and stem growing.  I gave the girls magnifying boxes and a magnifying glass and let them examine the seeds.  I was also going to cut open an apple, pepper and squash for the girls to see and count the seeds, but Elli wound up needing to go to bed so we'll try that tomorrow.

We read All About Seeds and Addie completed her math and reading workbook pages.

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Soil

Today we started growing gardens, which is May's theme through Mother Goose Time.  It's finally warmed up enough to play outside without winter gear on, so we headed outside to start the lesson.  The girls played in dirt, felt the difference between soil and sand, and looked for living and nonliving things on the ground. They were very excited to find a caterpillar and some beetles. 

After spending over 2 hours outside we headed in and the girls made their monthly name tags.

 Next we talked about what plants need to live and the girls planted grass seed.  Everything to do this was provided in the daily bag.  They also drew their observations of their containers on a tracking card, which we will use throughout the month to measure the grasses progress.

Every month Mother Goose Time provides a cute theme poster with look and find glasses.  The girls both love this and I keep it in a bin that they can reach and use all month long.

To end the day Addie completed her more math and reading work books.

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Growing Gardens

Starting in May we'll be learning all about gardens with Mother Goose Time.  We were on vacation for 2 weeks in April and didn't get to finish all of the ocean theme, but I have the extras saved for a rainy day.  As much as I hate for vacation to end, I'm excited to get back to our routine using Mother Goose Time.  I briefly skimmed through the bags, and this month looks like there will be a lot of fun activities for the kids.

each day covers a new topic

 We'll be using the dance n' beats dvd and supplemental book again this month.  My girls both love these dvd's and dance to them all month long.

Addie will be getting extra math and reading practice with the more math and reading books.

 I also get the Little Goose book for Elli.  It gives great ideas on how to tailor the lessons plans to younger kids.

inside the teacher tool bag

Each month also comes with manipulatives and a book. 

I opened the bag for the first day just to get an idea of what we'd be doing this month.  There are the name tags and look and find poster that come every month.  There is also a parent newsletter (not pictured).  Day 1 is soil, and there is a bag of dirt, grass seeds, cups to plant them in, and a tracking sheet where the girls will record their observations. 

This is bag 1 of 20, and I can already tell the girls are going to love this theme.

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