Sprout and Stem

K is counting the numbers on the number strip.

L is counting the days on the calendar, so she can guess what today's date.

How is a sprout like a baby?

Singing " The Little Sprout" and taking turns sprouting like a flower.

Exploring the photos on the paper to see how a seed becomes a plant.

Investigating stems,measuring their lengths, and seeing how their length differs from the length of our fingers.

C said the stem on the leaf is 2 inches.

The girls are counting the numbers on their rulers.

L is measuring the stem of a banana.

The kids learned the stem of a plant sucks up water like a straw.The water travels to the leaves of a plant. L is using a straw to drink water from a cup to see what it is like for a stem to drink water.

We discussed what things crack open. The kids agreed that eggs crack open. C is observing beans,and picking one she would like to use for her experiment.

We learned that some beans do not need soil. K put a bean in a ziplock bag along with a wet paper towel, so she can record the observations of the bean each day. We are predicting the bean will grow into a plant.

C is adding blue food coloring to his water.

Now, he will see what happens to the plant once the stem is placed in the water. C thinks the plant will die if it drinks the blue water. L thinks the plant will turn blue. 

L & C are painting the cycle of a seed once it is planted.

L is measuring another stem.

C painted what she thinks will happen to the seed as it grows.

Overall, the children had a great time learning about beans and seeds sprouting. They used counting skills, measuring,  observation  skills, predicting, and comparing differences and observing similarities of different objects. Today was a fun filled day. 

Sun and Water!

Taking turns pointing to the number line, and counting by clapping our hands, stomping our feet etc.

C pointed to number 20. Everyone chimed in by helping her to count to 20.

C is clapping 20 times in a row. 

The lesson called for potted plants, but this was all I had. I felt it worked just fine,. The kids each took turns talking about the different parts of a plant. We talked about how plants need water to grow. Everyone got to look at the flowers, feel the stems, leaves, and the petals. 

C is feeling the stem of the tulip.

L said the petals are soft.

I explained that the whole plant including the stem, leaves, roots and flower need water to grow. Then, the kids took turns tasting different flower parts. Some examples we used for our experiment  were broccoli for a flower, or carrot for a root. 

S loved the carrots. In fact, he had a hard time keeping them on his placemat. 

K enjoyed eating the seeds.

Building with blocks as a warm up exercise to get ourselves ready for a numbers game. 

We discussed what might happen if a seed gets too much rain or sun. We learned that a seed can drown if they get too much water. We also learned that a seed can shrivel up and die if they get too much sun. L is drawing a number card to play a counting game about sun and rain. 

L (a flower) needed 10 steps to make it to the water. She drew a 9 instead. Needless to say, she pretended to shrivel up and die because she was thirsty for more water. 

K made it to the water. Yay!

S decided to jump 10 steps. 

The kids are drawing on the cover of their new journals.

Nice work S!

Take a drink! I explained to the kids that we also need water to survive. I also explained that kids need to drink 8 ounces of water each day. 

The children took turns filling up a measuring cup with 8 ounces of water, and poured it into a cup. 

C is doing a great job filling her cup of water.

Playtime!

K is up to something! I can tell by the smile on her face. :)

Seed!

The kids learned how to make diamond shapes with their fingers. 

S was excited to show me his hand made binoculars.

K is the calendar person today.

The children are singing "Old McDonald Had a Garden," and are taking turns placing shapes in the center of the circle.

We discussed what kinds of plants grow from a seed. C said watermelons grow from a seed. 

The kids are making shapes using our Multi-Size Tangram shapes from a previous MGT kit.

Look, a bridge!

We read a story about Jack and the Beanstalk. Afterwards, the children discussed what a seed needs to grow. We all agreed that seeds need water and food to grow. Finally, the children each drew a picture of what happened to the seeds in the book. 

Nice work K!

All the kids became excited about picking their own magazine. They looked in them to find pictures of clothing we would wear to do gardening. 

L said, "This outfit is for gardening."

You can't tell from the view, but C did great job drawing his garden.

L is drawing herself in her garden. She is wearing the same outfit she picked out of the magazine. 

Exploring seeds! This project was a lot of fun. The kids had fun scooping, picking, and counting seeds from the variety of veggies and fruits. 

L said the tomato seeds tasted like soup. I believe her observation was on target. 

I was surprised to see all of the kids enjoying different fruits and vegetables. 

Outdoor fun!

L noticed the stems on the plant including the roots hanging on the bottom. 

Great pic C!

Gravel fun!