- Program Name: School-age 2
The children in School Age 2 at RisingOaks Early Learning | St. Patrick have been interested in growing trees, plants and nature outside . We have used the trees to climb, look at and enjoy. We have noticed that the grass has grown so much and decided to learn how the grass on our lawns grow. We put soil in the sensory table and grass seed in a bucket. The children took seed starter pots and poked holes in the bottom for air flow and irrigation and sowed grass seeds in our pots after filling them with soil. We also didn’t forget to water our plants. We made this into a fun activity by taping our self portraits to the cups, and making “grass head planters” . The children learned that grass has to be watered a few times a weeks and put in the window to grow in the sunlight. We learned that grass and flowers need water and sunlight to grow as well as a pot with holes in it to prevent mold, or they need to be planted outside in nature. We printed a chart we found on the internet about the stages that grass grows in, and we talked about the changes from the seed to the grass stage, and how long it will take for our grass to grow in our pots ( 7-14 days) We learned new words such as root, remnant leaf and photosynthesis. We learned that grass leaves grow from other leaves and that the process of plants absorbing sunlight is called photosynthesis. We learned that grass on our lawns or “sod” is a perennial and it goes through a dormant stage during the winter time. We also learned about different kinds of grass and how some types do not regrow. We learned that grass grows in different cycles during different seasons.
The children are learning about plant science and how we can be ambassadors for our environment by learning to grow plants. We talked about how important oxygen is to the planet and how we need plants to produce oxygen so that humans can survive. We also talked about the impact we have on maintaining our planets integrity by recycling, and protecting our environment to keep our water ways clear and our natural environment healthy so plants and animals can grow and thrive. We will continue to do activities about our environment for our project until the end of the year. We used our cognitive and social skills to work together to research and decide on an activity that will help our environment. We also planned our actions and how we were going to create our grass head science. The children used their fine motor skills to dig and fill in the soil as well as sow seeds. This was a science experiment but also a fun activity that the children really enjoyed working on together with their peers in the classroom. What a Fun time we had. I followed up with the participants in a week and asked them if their grass seeds had sprouted and a few of them had. What a fun experiment to watch progress over time.
