Hi Families!
Welcome to our next unit, Plants! This week children move from exploring the properties and uses of
water to observing and learning about different kinds of plants! Enjoy.
Miss Trish’s Weekly At Home Lesson Plan
Week of: May 11
TH
Theme: Plants
Letter of the week: Cc
Essential question: How do plants grow and why are they important?
Free Play / structured play
While your child is playing you can encourage them to use their senses to
observe the materials around them and then use their observations to make
predictions about what might happen if they manipulate the materials. Play
is an important vehicle for developing a variety of skills such as self-
awareness. During play see if your child can answer some of the following
questions
1. What are plants?
2. What do plants need and where do we find them?
3. What are some different kinds of plants?
4. Why are plants important?
Circle time
Morning song, weather, calendar, letter of the week, counting, shapes, sing-
a-long, story time
Read aloud
Click the link below to watch the Story & read the book
Underground by Denise Fleming
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyYoioomv-E
Lola Plants a Garden by Anna McQuinn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JABc22rJ4u8
A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_vElnekJzI
Seed to Plant by Kristin Baird Rattini
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1EE7AojPAw
Ocean Sunlight: how Tiny Plants Feed the Seas by Molly Bang.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY9QL7fL45E
*questions to ask your child while reading Tell me about this book. What do
you like about it? What is your favorite part of this book? Why? What do you
notice? What do you think is happening? What will happen next? Does that
remind you of anything?
Sensory play
Soil and Seeds: Add potting soil and seeds to the sensory table as well as
gardening tools such as gloves, small spades, trowels, rakes, watering cans
etc. Invite children to play with the materials and observe the seeds over
the course of a few
Seaweed: Add plants or seaweed (plastic or real, if available) to the water in
the sensory table along with pretend fish, toy boats etc. Invite children to
talk about the different places they can find plants and discuss why plants
grow in the bottom of oceans, rivers, lakes etc.
Frog Pond: Use green foam pieces to create water lilies, add them to the
water in the sensory table along with toy frogs and invite children to play in
the pond
Plant Parts: Place an assortment of plant parts in a sensory table or
supplemental tray or bin. Invite children to explore. Consider adding
flowers, stems from various plants, a variety of leaves, bark from trees,
small twigs as well as roots. Supply paper and writing utensils as well so
children can draw or write about their observations.
Build a Greenhouse: Add empty, clean, clear plastic recycled containers
such as berry containers, 2-liter bottles cut in half, take-out containers etc.
as well as small cups or planting containers, dirt or soil and seeds to the
sensory table for children to use to create their own greenhouses. Use the
word greenhouse frequently as children play and create. Consider hanging
pictures of greenhouses on the wall near the sensory table and be sure to
offer a description of greenhouses and their purpose. Also include paper
and writing utensils if children would like to name and create a sign for their
greenhouses.
Arts & Crafts
Paint Flowers: Hang pictures of famous paintings of flowers near the easel
(such as Sunflowers by Claude Monet, Twelve Sunflowers in a Vase by
Vincent Van Gogh, Poppy by Georgia O’Keefe, Flowers by Andy Warhol or
Garland of Flowers by Auguste Renoir). Invite children to reflect on these
paintings. Consider providing prompts such as, “What do you notice in this
picture?” and “How does this picture make you feel?” After children reflect,
they can paint their own pictures of flowers.
Floral Still Life: Provide or create a floral arrangement for children to
carefully observe and then paint or draw what they see with various
mediums (e.g., charcoal or oil pastels)
Plant Stamps: Provide parts of plants such as flowers or leaves, invite
children to dip them into a small amount of paint and press them onto a
piece of paper similar to a stamp.
Paper Flowers: Supply pipe cleaners as well as tissue paper circles (several
inches in diameter). Children can pierce the middle of the tissue paper
circles with the pipe cleaner, adding as many as they would like, then fold
the circles up to create a flower.
3-D Plants: Invite children to use recycled materials such as cardboard
boxes or tubes and empty, clean food containers, to create three-
dimensional plants. Supply live plants, plastic or silk plants or pictures of
plants for children to reference as they build their own plants. Encourage
children to name the plants and make their own labels for them.
Movement/outdoor
Plant Study: Choose a nearby tree or plant for the class to observe. Provide
paper and writing utensils for children to record their observations through
drawing and/or writing. Encourage children to observe the plant/tree
carefully and notice differences from observation to observation. In spring,
focus on when trees begin to form buds and when the buds open to
produce leaves. In fall, watch the leaves change color and fall from the tree.
Plant Count: Invite children to tally the number of plants they can find on a
walk or outdoor space. If children would like, they can also draw pictures or
write the names of the plants.
Community Walk: Go on a community walk. Encourage children to note
what plants they see on the walk. Highlight any plants you see that are also
on the vocabulary list such as evergreen, bush, flower and grass. Consider
inviting children to bring a clipboard, paper and writing utensil on the walk
to record their observations independently. When you return to the
classroom, encourage children to refer to their notes and write or draw
about the walk and the plants they saw.
Table top activities
*all worksheets are attached
on our website
Print and complete the worksheets for
the week attached on our website!
