They are beginning to connect the presence of low grey clouds with rain. The children draw in the amount of collected rain on a template and compare it to previous days. We switched to a “real” scientific rain gauge because it has numbers on it already and can easily attach to a post.

The amount of rain that falls can be measured in inches that accumulate in any container with nearly straight sides. (poem-like text about a child following the life cycle of sunflowers)Ī traditional call and response song, such as “John the Rabbit: or “Ol’ John Rabbit” which can be heard on Mike and Peggy Seeger’s American Folksongs for Children

To Be Like The Sun by Susan Marie Swanson, Harcourt, 2008.

Seeds by George Shannon, Houghton Mifflin, 1994.

I’m a Seed by Jean Marzollo, Cartwheel Books, 1996.

Bean and Plant by Christine Back and Barrie Watts (a non-fiction classic with clear close-ups of seed sprouting).

When it was dry I brought it into the classroom and the children used scissors to cut it apart, opening the pods to see the seeds.īooks to go with planting seeds or gardening, an incomplete list because there are too many worthy books to list them all: This spring there was a large broccolis plant that had grown all winter long and produced many seed pods.

Always check for allergies-it is surprising how many plants can be a problem for one or more children. The radishes may be too spicy for many children’s taste so they will say “I don’t like it yet” but most will enjoy the slightly sweet crunch of a sugar snap pea pod. We planted peas and radishes, measured their growth, examined the pea flowers, and are waiting for the harvest. The activities the children have been involved in center around the weather. In our mid-Atlantic spring we can have temperatures in the 50s or in the 80s, rain or shine.

Backyard Detective by Nic Bishop