May 4-8: A Plantiful Week!

plant-parts-worksheet.pdf
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seed_coloring_page.jpg
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We're highlighting plants for this week's library activities. I'm including screen cast storytimes of 3 different books this week since there are so many excellent books on plants and gardens. As promised in our zoom meeting, I also posted my video of a green heron catching dinner! If you've got videos or pictures of birds you've spotted, feel free to e-mail them to me so that I can share them on our website or library Instagram!
  1. Watch Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt.
  2. Discussion Questions:
    1. What season is it in the beginning of the story? How can we tell? (Spring: new growth, planting, warm, sunny). 
    2. What did you notice happening "down in the dirt?" (Roots, worms, etc) 
    3. What do plants need to grow? (water, sun, soil, animals, etc. 
  3. Extension activities
    1. Watch Eric Carle's the Tiny Seed on Austin Public Library's Hoopla. 
    2. Keyword search plants and gardens in Epic! There are so many excellent books on these topics in Epic! If you don't have Epic, follow the directions here to get your  FREE account.
    3. Review the basic parts of a plant:
      1. Easy: Color the plant parts worksheet linked on the left.
      2. Involved: Go outside and find a flower, stem, leaves, and roots. Take all of these plant parts, and reconstruct the plant on paper. Help your child label the plant parts. Here's a link to a tutorial for this activity or click through the slideshow below for directions.
      3. Make a flower child! Click on slide 6 below for directions. 
      4. Make a flower frame! Click on slide 9 for directions.

  1. Watch One Little Lot, the 1,2 3's of Urban Gardening.
  2. Discussion questions:
    1. What was the lot before the community transformed it into a garden? (empty, a place where people threw their trash). Why did the people want a garden? OR what good things came from building the garden?
    2. What did the people need to do to turn it into a garden? (take out the trash, build planters, add dirt, rake it, add seeds, water the seeds, etc.)
    3. Which insect wanted to visit the garden? (honeybee) How do honeybees help plants? (spread pollen when they fly from flower to flower)
  3. Possible Extension Activities:
    1. Watch A Seed is Sleepy virtual story time! It has gorgeous illustrations! 
    2. Seed craft
      1. Easy: Seed Coloring Page (shows growth phases; download from the left sidebar)
      2. Involved: germinate seeds (do you have pinto/garbanzo beans in your pantry? You can use them! ) This preschool guide is simple, hands-on way to start and track seed germination.
    3. Flower Frame Craft (you'll need cardboard,  clear plastic (baggie/saran wrap, etc.), tape, scissors and flowers/leaves).