Growing Week

 We started growing week by looking at celery and thinking what might happen when we put it into water. The children for the most part agreed that the water would go UP! This simple approach to observing the process of plant water uptake and transport gives the children early building blocks of a science curriculum,

 We wrote down our predictions, and the poster has room for us to draw what we see.

 The water table was filled with colored water, and we invited the children, with scissors, trays of green herbs and flowers,  bowls and spoons to cut up, smell, stir, and explore plants. The children pulled the blossoms apart and noticed different colors and shapes inside the blossoms, and scooped and poured their concoctions all morning! While they explored, we used terms such as stem, petals, leaves, and buds to add to their plant vocabulary.

 There was an invitation to draw a bouquet of  flowers by observing the colors and drawing what is seen. Every picture was very different as each child brought their own perception of "flower" to the coloring.

 We looked very closely at seeds as we opened packets and glued seeds to paper. We talked about the different sizes of the seeds as we opened each package. Some were surprises!

We love to see early literacy happening in our PreK classroom.  We see children sitting together to draw pictures, the message writing becomes collaborative, and when there is a chart to fill with writing it is filled!

 The children are drawing pictures of their observations as the celery changes color. 

The seed packets are on the science table as well, with sample seeds stuck to the packet.

The marker table often echoes with questions like "how do you spell 'to mom'? and "how do you spell 'birthday'?" The children are interested in writing their own names, especially when there's a "permanent marker" to use.


Individual children often take on the role of reader and other children listen attentively.  The children are intrinsically motivated to practice their literacy skills - and we are happy to provide the support and tools that they need.

Until Next Time,

Michele