Growing Plants in Kindergarten
April is National Gardening Month and, with it being spring {the time of year for budding blooms and new life}, it's the perfect time of year to introduce a unit on botany and gardening! For a fully hands-on learning experience, consider creating a classroom 'garden' for your students to tend and observe. Worried about the mess? Here are some great indoor garden solutions!
Naomi Shulman of FamilyFun offers a great tutorial for making planters from recycled plastic bottles, that are self-watering and fit perfectly on the classroom windowsill! The clear plastic will allow your students to see below the surface and keep a growth journal.
Got any old trading-card sleeves floating around? FamilyFun's Naomi Shulman provides spectacular instructions for making this clever hanging {and space-saving} garden using these recycled sleeves. No cups to tip over or worrying about getting your plants the proper sunlight, just good old-fashioned learning and fun!
Want your students to plant, cultivate, and observe their own 'gardens' rather than make it a classroom affair? Little Giraffes Teaching Ideas, a resource for kindergarten teachers, provides directions for creating individual 'greenhouses' where students simulate proper growing conditions {minus the messy soil!} and observe actual sprouts!
Ever consider plastic food handling/service gloves an essential part of gardening? Little Giraffes Teaching Ideas shows how this simple kitchen item can be turned into a small, individual 'garden' - allowing for several different types of plants, using an alternative {and less messy!} version of 'soil', and offering a 'picture window' for making observations!
Be sure to visit these sites for pictures and directions! Using one {or several} of these projects is sure to make the unit unforgettable!
