Preschool Lesson Plans: Spring Has Sprung!!!

As you know, the first day of Spring has just past and is getting us excited! So this week we are talking about Spring (including more gardening).

Today we painted egg carton flowers that we will attach chenille stems when they dry.

We also started a experiment with seeds in wet paper towels. We will be watching to see the seeds sprout. I wanted to do a potato plant, but I didn't have any potatoes with eyes for a change.

We also started working on letter P. We talked about P words like penguin, pickle, and Proud.

Which is what I was when I saw Emily's first attempt at writing the letter P. Good first attempt! She is still a young three.

Recent Interuption in Posts

I apologize for my recent abrupt interruption in posts and lesson plans. My father was hospitalized and had emergency surgery. He is now home and I have come home also. But I have a bad sprained ankle, but hope to return to the grind on Monday. Doing the home school preschool thing makes my daughter behave so much better. She craves structure.
Next week we will be talking about spring.

Preschool Lesson Plans: Paint before you Plant!

Yesterday we took a break and went to the park! I kind of wish we hadn't, because Monk behaves better when we have "school". Needless to say, last night was crazy. But back to the grind today.

Today we paint. Something my girl loves to do, and many other 3 year olds!


We took a terra cotta pot from the garage, washed it, put down some newspaper, and got some paint. I used outdoor paint. I gave her a brush and let her go to it and she did!!

She had fun and learned something too.

What is learned from today's activity:

• Colors.
• Fine Motor skills.
  
• Eye Hand coordination.
• Creativity.

Preschool Lesson Plans: Flowers!

Today we talked about flowers, but first, we did a cooking activity.

We put butter on tortillas and sprinkled with cinnamon. I put it in the oven and out came a yummy snack, but we had it for breakfast:). Monk enjoyed eating her creation!
On to flowers! We made flowers out of coffee filters. First we colored them with markers. We then to a spray bottle with water in it and sprayed them. This blends the colors for a watercolor effect.

Here came the hard part- WAITING!!! We had to let the coffee filters dry. So while we waited, we talked about the parts of a plant. We looked at a picture out of our Berry Best Gardening Book. It showed the parts of a plant-the flower, the bud, the stem, the leaves, and the roots. We talked about the different parts and their jobs.

And finally, The filters were dry. Yipppieee! We first folded the filter in half then into quarters and so on until it is a small triangle. We attached the pipe cleaner stems to the the small point and wrapped it around. When it was secure we fluffed the flower out. And you have a flower!

Preschool Lesson Plans: Spring!!

Today begins our adventure into spring. As I said before we began with plants/gardening. Above is a picture of Monkey Girl singing the "Days of the Week" song.
We covered the letter F(for flower). She colored a page for that. She did "write" in her journal.
We also read the book, "Growing Vegetable Soup"We then went outside to see what we need to do to prep the garden. As you can see, We have a bunch to do!

We also picked dandelions and shamrocks and made plant art. We put the picked plants on white paper and used the hammer to smash them to make imprints. It's the process not product.




As you can see, Monkey was very proud of her work!What did we learn from today's fun?

• We developed a further relationship with the world around us. It is such a big concept but so important.
• We worked on pre-reading and pre-writing. Learning to read and write begins here. You must learn to recognise the letters and the sounds they make before anything.
• We learned patience. She sat and listened to the story while anxiously waiting to go outside!!
• We learned about photosynthesis. How leaves use the sun to make food for the plants, and when we smashed the shamrocks we saw the green evidence of that.
• We developed our sense of accomplishment. Just see the last picture. She is so proud. Developing that sense of self is what preschool is for any way.
  

March Preschool Lesson Plan Ideas: Spring Fever

Spring is almost here. I am getting excited!!!! It is absolutely crazy that it is 73 today and last Sunday it was snowing! In Alabama!!!!!!

As I have said before, I am trying to work with my daughter at home, and we are excited to get started on spring lesson plans. Tomorrow we are starting on gardening. We are going to prep and plant the garden this week, paint a planter and plant something in it, we will be working on the letter F, making flowers, read poems and books about spring, take a nature walk, and make sun prints. We are also going to graph plant growth over the month. I also may start collecting environmental print. Monkey Girl does that any way.
So that's what we are going to. Stay tuned for more ideas.

What do kids learn from gardening?

• Ecology. there is a big emphasis on green living now. Kids learn if they care for the Earth, it will provide nourishment for them(i.e. yummy fruit and veggies).
• To enjoy nature, the fresh air. I know I love it!
• Responsibility- Caring fore plants teach them to be responsible for tasks and other living things.
• Cause and effect. If you provide seeds with sun and water, they will grow into a plant.
  

To name just a few.....