Welcome to my Thursday virtual classroom ! Today we are exploring flowers ! As we continue our exploration of outdoors as we are stay close to home: Lesson 2 begins Now :
We use flowers to mark all kinds of moments – celebration, remembrance, romance (or, for the more suspicious among us, a hint that the flower-giver has done something wrong). But at this time of year, they signify one thing above all else: the fact that spring is here and winter is finally on its way out.
So, as the blooms begin to break through the ground, here are some ways to use nature’s signal of warmer days ahead to explore a variety of topics with your students.
Pretty Petals
The petals of a flower are usually the first things people notice. The petals also attract bugs and insects with their bright colors.
Strong Stems
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 learn about flower stems by pretending to be one.
Stamen and Pistil
Take a flower apart with 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 kids 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. Delicately pull the petals away while children watch to show these parts located in the central area of the flower.
Flower Game :
Active flowers
Tell children they are flower seeds in the ground. They must curl up in a ball on the floor. Pretend that it is starting to rain. They remain curled up in a ball but wiggle and move around. The seed then begins to grow out of the ground. Children lift up their head and upper body. The sun shines and the flowers grow and grow. Children can stand up slowly. Finally, the flowers bloom. Children stand tall and stretch out their arms. Suddenly, the wind begins to blow. Children sway from side to side keeping their feet firmly on the ground.
Today’s Book :
A first garden story board book that reveals how plants grow with lift-the-flaps and a pullout height chart.
Teach your child how a tiny seed grows into a flower in this fascinating lift-the-flap garden story. A pullout height chart ends the book–a great way for children to remember how a sunflower grows, and to measure how fast your child grows, too! Through illustrations, photography, and flaps, sixteen delightful board book pages reveal the wonder of how plants grow as you follow the story of a mystery seed. How was it planted? What does it need? What will it become? As days go by, it’s hard to imagine the tiny shoot will ever grow into a big, strong plant. Could it magically become the tallest of all the garden flowers? Flaps unfold to show plants growing, creatures hiding, and what’s happening underground. The book includes very simple gardening projects and facts about garden creatures (which ones are good for plants, and which ones are bad), and children will find out what a pollinator is, and how to attract pollinators to the garden. The perfect gift for aspiring gardeners, complete with a height chart.
Lisa s Everyday Life