For the month of May we chose to the theme of garden or plants.

The first week we focused on seeds and the plant cycle. We did a sensory bin full of different shapes and sizes of seeds. We also put out a plant/flower puzzle he could play with.

We compared and contrasted seeds: smallest to biggest, lightest to darkest, lightest to heaviest and shapes such as circles and triangles.

Z then played a guessing game where he tried to figured out which seeds came from which seed packets.

We also did a scavenger hunt collecting plants and seeds that showed the different steps in the plant cycle.

We made signs for our outside play garden.

He really enjoyed pretending to dig in the dirt, plant seeds, plant flowers, and water them all. Z also did very well counting to 5 using seeds.

The second week we focused on parts of a plant. We did a sensory bin using play dirt (like kinetic sand) plastic bugs and the flower plant puzzle.

We did a flower plant puzzle, and worksheet learning about the parts of a plant and what they do. We also did a sunflower craft showing the parts of a plant using a paper plate, construction paper, and pipe cleaners.

We did another scavenger hunt looking for different parts of a plant. We brought what we found inside and looked at them with the magnifying glass. Then we put lima beans in a Ziploc with wet cotton balls and taped it to the front window to wait and watch it sprout.

We played a pattern game using flower shapes; the next day we cut them up to do matching game as well.

For the last week we talked about plants we eat. We checked on our lima bean to see it  has grown into a seedling. We were able to think back on how it started and where it is now to review the plant cycle while also naming the different parts of the seedling.

Z also really enjoyed opening up different fruits and vegetables and exploring the seeds found and collecting the seeds on a chart.

We took different types of fruits and vegetables out of the fridge and talked about which part of the plant they come from discovering we eat all parts of a plant from seeds, to leaves, to roots. We also learned that some vegetables and fruits grow under the ground, above ground, and in trees.

We made dandelion parachutes out of paper-practicing our scissors skills, then had a fun time dropping them from our play gym outside and watching them twirl and float away in the wind.

For sack dessert we made pipe cleaner flowers, crushed oreos, and put then in with pudding and gummy worms. Z really like the “dirt dessert” especially the gummy worms.

And that is all for home school preschool for the year. As we look ahead, I want Z to enjoy being outside and having a more open schedule. We want to prepare him for the major change in schedule with baby brother  coming soon as well. This means more time learning and playing independently. We will still try to do activity books, scavenger hunts and crafts on an occasion but without a theme or set routine.

Looking forward to sharing Z’s summer adventures with all of you!