This week our classroom was full of excitement as we explored our theme of gardening. The children already had wonderful background knowledge from home and previous classrooms, so they were eager to talk about the gardens their parents and grandparents have. Together, we reviewed what every garden needs: good soil, seeds, water, air, and sunlight. The children also watched a short video showing how a seed grows into a fruit, vegetable, or flower, which helped them understand the plant life cycle. We discussed the different tools gardeners use and shared ideas about what we would plant if we had our own garden.
In literacy, the children helped create a diction chart about what a flower needs. They played a Carrot Patch Alphabet Matching game, practiced writing lowercase letters, and enjoyed a Sight Word Domino game where they either read the sight word or found its match. After reading The Garden by Sarah Stewart, the children practiced recalling details from the story to strengthen their comprehension skills.
Math was woven into our gardening theme as well. During our “Build a Veggie Garden” activity, the children counted out vegetables to match the number on each card and matched numbers to their written words. They rolled dice and counted out seeds, and in our “Plant the Seed” activity, they counted and placed the correct number of seeds in their garden. We also focused on number recognition throughout the week to support their growing math skills.
The children expressed their creativity through several art projects. They drew pictures of gardens they would like to have someday, created colorful flowers using construction paper, and made their own tulip garden to brighten our classroom.
We also spent time on social–emotional learning. A few friends needed reminders about keeping their bodies to themselves, so we had a group discussion about body boundaries. We talked about how our bodies belong to us and should not be used to touch or push others. The children listened thoughtfully and practiced making safe, respectful choices.
We hope everyone enjoys their weekend and has a chance to spend some time outside together this coming holiday weekend!
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out!