Garden Lesson Plans
Sub-Theme: Planting & Caring for A Garden Weekly Focus Letter: Vv Number: 17 Color: Purple Shape: Rectangle Sight Word: my Letter V vase craft & writing practice. to tell you what they think a garden is. responses. Show them the different types of gardens using books/photos. (Flower garden, water garden, butterfly garden & vegetable gardens etc.) If You Plant a Seed Kadir Nelson Using unifix cubes count to 17 & write the number in the salt tray. what type of tools do we need in the garden. Using a garden bag show the children a variety of garden tools & how to use them in the garden. (Shove, trowel, rake, water can, gloves,) Art: Seed Art Have the children create a mosaic using a variety of seeds. Lola Plants a Garden by Anna McQuinn Magazine Color Hunt for the color Purple in magazines to make a collage. children that just like us. plants need thing to help them grow. Explain the different things plants need to survive and grow. From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons Use the playdough shape mats to make a rectangle. what they think a weed is. Record their responses. Explain to the children that some people remove weeds from their gardens because the weeds take food away from other plants. Show the children a variety of weeds you have pulled from a garden. Let them explore the different weeds using magnifying glasses How a Seed Grows by Helene J. Jordan Decorate the sight word my with colored tissue paper. Take a walk with the children in a nearby park, playground, or yard to look at different gardens. Ask the children what do you see? Art: Dandelion Craft Dip a fork in yellow paint. Press down on paper and pull back making a circle shape first. Fill in the middle parts and let dry. Draw a stem with a green marker/crayon. The Little Gardener Jan Gerardi Sing themed song What Do Plants Need with instruments & review what we learned today.
Sub-Theme: Growing Fruits & Vegetables Weekly Focus Letter: Ww Number: 17 Color: Orange Shape: Rectangle Sight Word: where Letter W wagon craft & writing practice. what fruits & vegetable can grow in a garden. Record their responses. Bring a variety of fruits & vegetables that grow in the garden for them to look at & explore. Ask them have you ever had a? Peppa Pig and the Vegetable Garden by Candlewick Press Label a flower pot with 17. Then count 17 large seeds to put in the flower pot using tweezers. they like potatoes. responses. Explain how potatoes grow under the ground. Have the children help you make mashed potatoes. Have them clean the potatoes. Once cleaned you peel. Then show them how to cook them and mash them with a potato masher. Let your children add a little salt, butter, and milk. Mix it all up to make yummy mashed potatoes. One Potato, Two Potato by Todd H. Doodler Make the color orange mixing yellow & red. they like carrots. Do they like them crunchy or cooked? responses. Show the children a carrot and explain that the carrot is one vegetable where the root is the edible part of the plant. Show them some carrot pieces, some raw and some cooked. Encourage your group to nibble each type of carrot and cast their votes in this activity. Make a poster with three sections: crunchy, cooked, don t like at all. The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss Rectangle lace cards. Using the sight word flash cards & playdoh to make the sight word where. they like blueberries. Explain how blueberries grow. Explain that they grow on bushes that are often planted in long rows. The bushes can grow up to 12 feet tall In the spring, clusters of beautiful white blossoms pop up all over the bushes and are pollinated by bees. Art: Blueberry Basket Using popsicle sticks create a basket. Dip fingers in blue paint to fil the basket. Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert Sing themed song This Is My Garden with instruments & review what we learned today. they like strawberries. Explain the life cycle of a strawberry. Make a fruit salad & dance to the Wiggle s song Fruit Salad Yummy Yummy The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin
Sub-Theme: Growing Flowers Weekly Focus Letter: Xx Number: 18 Color: Purple & Orange Letter X X-ray craft & writing practice. children the petals of a flower are usually the first things people notice. The petals also attract bugs and insects with their bright colors. Art: Flower pot craft Give each child there very own clay pot to decorate with acrylic outdoor paint. Using Legos count to 18 & write the number in the salt tray. children that every flower needs a stem. A stem helps the flower reach toward the sun and ends with roots that hold the flower in the ground. Children can pretend to be one. Children can stand in a line with their feet planted firmly on the ground. Children can raise their arms over their heads and reach toward the sun, pretending their hands are leaves, making sure to keep their balance through their body, just like a flower s stem does. Sort the colors Purple & Orange Discuss with children that leaves are essential to plants because they turn the sun s energy into food for the plant through photosynthesis. Art: Tulip Carve out the potato to create a tulip shape. Dip your carved potato into paint. Then paint green stems. Shape: Rectangle Sight Word: Funny & Not Rectangle stamping. Using the sight word flash cards & playdoh to make your sight words Funny & Not Take a flower apart with the children for a unique science experiment that shows the specific parts of a flower and where they are located. Use a flower, such as a tulip, to give the children a good look at where the stamen and pistil are located within a flower. The stamen is the male part of the flower, which produces the pollen of the plant. The pistil is the female part of the flower, made up of one or many rolled leaf-like structures. Take the children for a neighborhood flower walk. Name the ones you can for your children. After your walk have each child tell you what their favorite flowers were. Art: The Tiny Seed Cut a potato in half and then cut off one side to make a petal (horseshoe) shape with a flat edge. Have child cut out leaves and a stem and then glue it to the white paper. Have child dip the potato in red and yellow paint and then stamp it on the white paper to make a flower. Plants in Spring by Martha E. H. Rustad Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert I Can Grow a Flower by DK Mrs. Peanuckle's Flower Alphabet by Mrs. Peanuckle Sing themed song A Little Seed with instruments & review what we learned today. The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
Sub-Theme: Garden Visitors Weekly Focus Letter: VvWwXx Number: 18 Color: Purple & Orange Letter VWX sound sort. children that many animals visit & some even live in the garden. Explain that some animal visitors are good for your garden. Ask the children what animals do you think visit the garden. responses. (Through the week try and revisit the list to see if any of the animals on the list were good or bad for the garden. In the Garden by Peggy Collins Using number cards place them in numerical order to 18. Show the children a image of a lady bug. Ask the children how does a ladybug help the garden. responses Explain that ladybugs are capable of consuming up to 50 to 60 aphids per day. Aphids are a species of insect that can destroy plants. Art: Lady Bug Color the children s thumbs with red paint and then stamp them on paper. After the paint dries. draw on heads and spots on their thumbs. Ladybugs by Margaret Hall Make a Purple & Orange pattern. Depending on age make an AB, AAB, or ABC pattern they have ever seen a rabbit hooping around outside. Explain to the children that wild rabbits are good for gardens. Explain that even though they have a bad-rap for eating the plants, they are good because the rabbits help the garden with their droppings. Explain the dropping provide excellent nutrients for the plants. The Tale of Peter Rabbit: A by Beatrix Potter Shape: Rectangle Rectangle shape robot craft. Use paper rectangle shapes to create a robot. they have you ever seen a earth worm. responses. Explain to the children that earthworms act like tiny plows when they live in a garden. Earthworms plow tunnels allowing air and water to get to the roots of plants. Explain that without access to air and water plants would not grow well. Art: Worm Paintings Use cooked noodles to pretend they are worms. Dip them in brown paint & get painting. Wiggling Worms at Work by Wendy Pfeffer and Steve Jenkins Sing themed song Wiggly Woo with instruments & review what we learned today. Sight Word: here Using the sight word flash cards write the sight word here in the salt tray. have you ever seen a Praying Mantis. Explain that Praying Mantis are good insects to have in the garden. This is because they prey on other insects and insect larva that will eat your plants. Praying Mantises by Margaret Hall
Garden Learning Centers Library Garden Books Add a variety of Garden books & new reading buddies. Science Flower Parts Add a variety of flower parts for the children to explore. Literacy Word Wall Cards Uppercase & Lowercase Seed Sorting Writing Paper ABC Puzzles Pre-Writing Practice Sensory Mr. MacGregor's garden. The children can pretend they are peter rabbit & are in Mr. MacGregor's garden Math Shape Puzzles Color Matching Puzzles Ten Frame Size Sorting Flower Number Match 3 Dramatic Play Bunny Burrow Flower & Vegetable Stand: Turn dramatic play into a fun farmer market selling flower & vegetables. Add a cash register, tools, flowers vegetables. Seed Exploration: Are Seeds The Same? Add variety of seed let the children explore Fill the sensory bin with oats. Add fences, the different seeds. Encourage the children little bunnies, mini fruit, mini vegetable toys, to talk about the seeds shapes, sizes, & fences, colors. Blocks I Can Build A Garden Encourage the children to make their very own gardens. Add flowers, pots, vegetables, animals, pretend soil. Etc... Art Art Inspiration Into The Garden Garden photos to inspire their art. Play-Dough Spring Play-Dough Mats Playdough Garden: Have the children make a playdough garden using homemade coffee dough & flowers. Painting With Flowers Using a large pieces of butcher paper, real flowers, fake flowers, let the children dip the flowers into the paint onto the paper. Flower Making Add a variety of material for the children to create flowers.