Inspired By Nature!



Hey Science Friends,

The other day we were outside and noticed on our playground that we had a beautiful blooming bush. Considering that our school in under construction this was a welcome sight each time we went outside. In science we had been previously talking about plants so we naturally wanted to create something after our observations and discussion. This was pretty simple and very child driven but the end results are always simply amazing...

In the first picture the children drew plants and plant parts on their paper. Afterwards, they independently used watercolor paint to paint in the entire picture. We all love projects like this because anything goes. No matter the color or painting technique it always comes out beautiful. This is one of those projects that is open ended and child directed. All I am really looking for are the plant parts and a little conversation about what the child knows about plants.

The painting of this project has taken several days but it does not bother us a bit. This is something to really look forward to do when all other work is done in a quiet area of the room. Who am I kidding? Is there really a quiet area with 22 kids? Between each session these dry pretty quickly on a small drying rack just waiting for more paint.

Our favorite part is adding the oil pastel in black to outline the drawings. This step really makes the drawing defined and the painting come alive. The child uses his or her finger to smear or smudge the lines. It is always interesting to see who smears or smudges. You can clearly see the personality in each painted picture.

Zaniaria wanted very thick and smudgy lines that she smeared deep into the painting. It looks like her work. And she sure had to remind me that she had true artist nails! As soon as our paintings are finished we will post them here!

 





One Bean!

I finally got my copy of One Bean by Anne Rockwell. I have to say that this really is the perfect book to take you through the life cycle of a bush bean. This would make a perfect book for both pre kindergarten and kindergarten children as they are learning about plants. What I like about it most is that you could actually follow along with the book investigation because it is way more fun to do it instead of just reading about it! 

Mini Greenhouse

We are gearing up for a Science Unit on Plants and Animals and I was so lucky to spot these at my local Wal-Mart in the clearance section. I was also lucky enough to find the quantity I needed. I am pretty darn excited because I am not only a week ahead gathering the needed materials but I am so excited to teach this part of Science. 

I was also able to order my copy of One Bean! 

Classroom Terrariums

As we begin our science unit on plants and animals, I was out looking for a small bag of soil so I would be ready to plant seeds. I was super excited to see this Miracle Grow kids terrarium on clearance as I was pricing out the materials needed to make our own terrarium. As I looked further down the shelf, I saw there were small individual terrariums on clearance too so I had to get them. The small terrariums will probably fit in our window sill and the larger one will fit on a shelf in the classroom. I figure since I have wanted to make a terrarium since I was about five, I might learn through this kit and we could move to building a big classroom terrarium together. 

Once I am ready to make the larger class size terrarium with the class, I am going to use this tutorial I found here. 

How a Seed Grows

This is a wonderful book to use as you are teaching how a seed grows. What I like about it most is that the children are young children in the book and it walks you through the investigation steps and guides your investigation day by day. I wanted to post this before Science Week just in case you needed time to gather your materials so you can join us as we post our progress. 

You will need:

egg shells

potting soil

seeds 

It would be ideal if you could have the book as reference as you work through the stages.