Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Plant Projects with Kids

Article By Judy Sedbrook, master gardener, Colorado State University Cooperative Extension, Denver County



There are few things children enjoy more than digging in the dirt and making mud pies. They are fascinated by looking for worms and bugs and love to water the garden and anything else in the near vicinity. Children also enjoy planting seeds, watching them grow and harvesting what they have grown. By cultivating their curiosity about these things, you can help them to develop a love of nature and gardening. They will also enjoy the special time they get to spend with you.

Encourage their enthusiasm by planting seeds that mature quickly and are large enough for a child to easily handle.

Vegetables are a good choice for young children. They germinate quickly and can be eaten when mature. Some popular choices are radishes, zucchini, pumpkins, carrots, lettuce, peas, broccoli and potatoes Children may even be encouraged to eat vegetables that they have grown and would otherwise avoid. If you have enough room in the garden, gourds are a good choice. After harvesting, they can be decorated and used as birdhouses or autumn table decorations.

To add interest and color to the vegetable garden, you might want to add some flowers such as marigolds, nasturtiums and sweet peas. Be sure any flowers you plant are non-toxic.

Children love to choose the seed packets or starter plants for their garden and should be allowed to do the planting themselves. They can then proudly say it is "their" garden. After the planting has been done, be sure to put the empty seed packet or plastic insert in the soil next to the plants to mark their spot.

It is also important to include the child when deciding where to put the garden. This can be a good time to talk about what is required for a successful garden. Teach the young gardener that growing a healthy garden begins with good soil. Explain that plants, just like people, need to eat and drink. Make sure that the chosen spot gets enough sun and has a readily available source of water. The garden should be located where it is easily accessible to the child and can be admired by others.

When a place is chosen, remember to keep it small. Measuring out a "yardstick" garden keeps the size easily manageable for most children. If you live in an apartment or don't have much space, gardening in pots and containers can be fun and productive. Allow the child to use his or her imagination in choosing containers to be used as planters. Just about anything that holds soil and has good drainage can be used as pot.

Watering and weeding their garden may not hold as much interest for children as the planning and planting did. Garden tasks will be easier to remember if you put a garden calendar in your child's room or on the refrigerator. That way he or she can take charge of completing the tasks and crossing off the days when each task has been completed.

Children should have their own tools to use in the garden. Child-sized rakes, hoes, spades, and gloves can be found in most garden shops, home improvement centers, and catalogues. Less expensive alternatives might include old, heavy kitchen spoons for digging and measuring cups for scoops.

Sometimes waiting for spring to plant a garden is just too long for a child. Many plants can be successfully grown indoors by children, including the pits and seeds of items purchased at the grocery store. Avocado pits can be grown in a glass in the window, and the top cut off of a pineapple and grown in a piepan can make a nice houseplant.

Herbs are a good choice to plant indoors for children. They grow fast and can then be tasted. With pruning, herbs will grow all winter and can be planted outdoors in the spring. If there's a cat in the house, children may enjoy growing catnip on a windowsill in a pot.

One of the most fun and satisfying indoor gardening projects is forcing flower bulbs. This is an easy, inexpensive way to keep children busy in the winter when they can't play outdoors and can be done as a family activity.







Friday, September 24, 2010

A Thematic Integrated Science Lesson

My life of teaching practice at Happyland's pre-school;



Theme - The Living Earth
Unit Of Work - Plants in the environment
Lesson Topic - Parts of plants –function of the roots and stem
Learning Area- Language and Science
No.of children-
Duration - 90 minutes


Lesson Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, children would be able to:

1. A science experience –How the plants get water.
2. Have the skills of observing.
3. Develop an interest in early science.
4. Enchance their communication skills.

Materials:
Straws;Food coloring(red),empty jar,sharp knife, cutting board; glass, water; a bunch of rose; carrots and a stalk of celery

Procedures

Circle time (20 minutes)

1. Let children sit in a circle.
2. Recall the name of parts of plants and observe yesterday planting.
3. Ask children take out their water bottle.
4. Give them a straw and suck the water.
5. Ask question:
• How to you drink water just now?
• We need water. How about plants?
• How do plants drink water?

Activity 1
Roots and stem experiment (25 minutes)

1. Show children carrots, rose, and celery, sharp knife, cutting board; glass, water; red food coloring.
2. Demo how to do the experiment
(carrots)
• Fill a glass half full with water.
• Add red food coloring in water.
• Cut the end tip off of a carrot.
• Put the carrot in the glass of water.
• Put the glass near a window that lets in sunshine.
• Watch the carrot for a few days(or few hours).

Activity 2
A Stem Experiment
Rose and Celery


Procedure:
Leave the leaves and cut the stalk at an angle at the base. Put it in a glass with at least several inches of dark colored water and ask children to predict what will happen in writing with a short simple sentence. You might start noticing the colored water rising in a hour or two.
Close:
When all the students agree that the water is going up the stem have the students write descriptions of what happened. Have the students draw pictures of plants that label the roots, stems and leaves. Stems carry minerals up from the roots in the soil to the leaves on top.


What Is Happening

The rose- called capillary action. The flower sucks up the water through a tube called 'xylem'.

The carrot itself is really what we call a "taproot." This is a big and main root that grows straight down into the ground. Along its sides, little roots grow, too. Some trees, plants and bushes have a major taproot; others do not. Roots are really important! They hold a plant in place when it is windy. They keep soil around the plant. And most of all, roots conduct water from the soil up to the plant.

Activity 2 (30 minutes)

1. Gather in circle
2. Provide them with carrots,rose and celery.
3. Have children to do the experiment.
4. Have children to predict and guess the result.
5. After experiment clean up.

Activity 3 (10 minutes)

1. Have children watch a short video about plants need water.

Round-up (5minutes)

Share their experience of experiments.








Photosynthesis Video from Simple Science on Vimeo.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Little Science Explorer (Home Education)

The Importance of Early Science Explorer (young children) are natural explorers. Every waking minute is a new opportunity for a young child to see,touch, and do new things, making meaning of the exciting world around them. Because their natural curiosity is unfettered, early explorations in science expose children to the rich knowledge that comes from investigating phenomena they encounter every day.











Saturday, September 4, 2010

Make Own Picture Book by Eu Kuan Seng 7 years old

http://happyfamilyeu.blogspot.com/




Rain rain go away....
Litlte mole said can you find me?? hehehe




*wink* I got a 'ideal' ! Let's me get some stones here....hehe






Hurrah! I got the stones and step on it!



Little mouse is walking slowly on the rainbow...

suddenly....




where is the rainbow???

Opps!...................no!!!!! wheep...........




???????? " what happend? "



Children are enjoying with their own creative book ! I am allows children to write and illustrate their own story here! Great to share here :)
Making books has been my passion for the past few years. We use recycled materials and keep the process as simple as possible—no rulers allowed here. I believe we are all creative beings. I encourage you and your child to celebrate that creativity with books of your own.

* All copywrite reserve*
no copy and paste here .Thanks ^^


冠胜的自制绘本《序》
雪州皇城艺术家协会会长吴亚鸿

绘本,是孩子最喜爱的图画书。它是采用绘画和文字结合的图书创作。
在欣赏与阅读绘本的基础上,教育者应该和孩子一起阅读,一起感受书中的故事。“每个相同的故事,都会因为阅读声音不同而不同,每幅相同的画面,也会因为观察角度的不同而不同。” 因此,教育者应该把绘本所表现的图与文,透过自己的感受,把书中美好的一面,用真挚情感的声音来讲述。这样,绘本的美感,才会体现出来,才能通过它去引导孩子对美的认知和喜爱,进而培养自主阅读的兴趣。在阅读中感受快乐,获得心灵滋养。
洪丽香老师,早年毕业于马来西亚艺术学院,后加入博雅艺术中心儿童美术师训课程,以优秀成绩修业。从事儿童美术教育多年的她,自己本身很喜爱绘本,她说,“幼儿的早期阅读方式与成人不同。绘本朗读,是幼儿聆听的教育活动。为幼儿朗读,让幼儿先用“耳朵阅读”,培养他们获得阅读的乐趣与感觉。这样的学习会令幼儿心神荡漾,乐在其中。”因此,在日常生活中,丽香老师经常为自己的三个孩子讲故事,引导他们画图画,启发孩子们的创意思维。
最近,她的长子冠胜,在自动自发下完成了“走上彩虹”绘本,令人惊喜。尽管年纪还小的他,尚未正式掌握文字的运用,但仍然可以从他的“图”和“文”当中,看到孩子对绘画与文字的兴趣和敏感度。
为了引起孩子的探索兴趣, 并激发孩子的创意思维,丽香老师和她的另一半尤明裕先生,决定为孩子出版首册绘本“走上彩虹”。
鼓励是最好的动力,父母的支持更是成功的阶梯。我想,“走上彩虹”会永远地在冠胜一生中,留下一道美丽的彩虹。




Make own Picture Book Story by Eu Kuan Seng 7 years old