The Tiny Seed, by Eric Carle

This story follows the adventure of a tiny seed as it travels with the wind and finally finds a place to settle and grow, and grow, and grow!

Materials

Tissue paper

Seed cycle and flower parts

5 little seeds flannel pieces

Flower shape from blocks to make a flower

Dried bean seeds and zip lock baggie

Vocabulary

Autumn (fall time)

Burst open (to split or break open)

Bud ( a flower that is ready to open)

Before Reading the Story

Tell the children that when you were coming to school today you noticed a beautiful flower or tree. Say you were wondering how it grew? Let the children give their responses if they have any. Now tell the children that you found a book that explains how seeds grow. Introduce the book.

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes.

Reading the Story

Point out the seed that meets its demise on each page as well as the path of the tiny seed.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems.

After Reading the Story

Tell the children that you are going to pretend to be seeds and do the movement activity, How a Seed Grows.

Help the children to act out How a Seed Grows, this is an adaptation of a story written by Helen Jordon. Pretend that you are a tiny seed. It is the fall time and you are on a beautiful flower. Now the wind begins to blow and you pop off and are carried away with the wind. You whirl and twirl and then land with a plop on the ground. The rains come and you are pushed ever so slightly into the ground. Now it is winter and all around you it is cold and the ground is frozen. You don’t notice because you are all curled up sound asleep. Soon the cold winter starts to melt away to spring time. The sun begins to shine and the winds begin to blow gently. The ground begins to get softer and you can move a tiny bit. You begin to wake from your sleep and you slowly, slowly begin to stretch down a tiny root deep into the ground. Every day you grow longer and stronger. Soon you are strong enough to push your stem right out of the ground. You grow up straight and proud. In time you grow a leaf, and then another and another. You are no longer a seed but you are a small plant! When it rains you are happy because you need rain to make you grow. When the sun shines you are happy because you need sunshine to make you grow. Every day you grow a little bit bigger and a little bit stronger until you finally open up into a beautiful flower. The bees and butterflies come to visit you and land right on your face with their tickly legs and feet. Some of your pollen gets stuck on their furry legs and wings. In a couple of weeks you will begin to get weaker. Your petals will get droopy and soon fall to the ground. You begin to wilt and slowly, slowly begin to sink back down to the earth. One day the wind blows and your seeds blow off into the wind. You continue to sink back down to the earth and you are a spent plant. You will not grow again till next spring.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multiple-step directions. AND Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; participates in a variety if dramatic play activities that become more extended and complex.

Discovery

Put a bean seed in a ziplock baggie with a moistened paper towel. Observe it over several days. As the stem begins to grow the children can measure it with a ruler. You can also have the children draw each day to document the seeds growth.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; develops abilities to collect, describe, and record information through a variety of means, including discussion, drawings, maps, and charts.

Put out books and pictures that show how seeds grow. If you have the funds, grow seeds!

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; shows growing interest in reading-related activities, such as asking to have a favorite book read; choosing to look at books; drawing pictures based on stories; asking to take books home; going to the library; and engaging in pretend reading with peers.

Music and Movement

Act out the poem A Little Plant, author unknown. Have the children sit on the floor and bend over their legs with their head towards the floor.

In the heart of a seed,

Buried down so deep, A little plant

Lay fast asleep.

“Awake” said the sun,

“Come up from the earth”

“Awake” said the rain,

“We’re giving you birth”

The little plant heard

And with a happy sigh,

Pointed its petals

Up to the sky.

Do this flannel with the children. They can use their fingers to count along.

5 little seeds planted in a row

Water them well and watch them grow!

1 little plant, so small and green

2 little plants can now be seen!

3 little plants with leaves so small

4 little plants are getting tall

5 little plants have buds of red

I planted a beautiful flowerbed!

Mathematics/Number & Operations; develops increasing ability to count to 10 and beyond.

Blocks

On a large piece of paper trace around block shapes to make a simple flower like design. Put it on the floor and let the children cover it with the correct block shapes.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; begins to be able to determine whether or not two shapes are the same size and shape.

Art

Make tissue paper flowers. On a piece of white construction paper draw a circle (this will be the flowers center) cut out many petal shapes from the tissue paper and also leaf shapes. Mix glue with a little water and put it into a bowl with a paint brush. The children can use the paint brush to spread the glue onto the paper. Let the children add petals and leaves to their flower. Show the children that if they over lap the tissue paper it will make another color.

Creative Arts/Art; progress in abilities to create drawings, paintings, models, and other creations that are more detailed, creative, or realistic. AND Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to participate in simple investigations to test observations, discuss and draw conclusions, and form generalizations.

Library and Writing

Let the children play with the 5 Little Flowers flannel.

Sand and Water

Put dirt or sand in the table with small shovels or spoons so the children can dig holes. They can pretend to be planting a garden. (We did this putting dirt into the table. On Friday afternoon I covered the table and when we came back on Monday morning, the bean seeds we had been playing with in the table had sprouted! A fun and unexpected surprise).

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; participates in a variety if dramatic play activities that become more extended and complex.

Dramatic Play

As the children play, encourage them to sort the plastic foods by those that have seeds and those that do not. Bring in real fruits and vegetables if you can so that the children can cut them apart and look at real seeds.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows increasing abilities to match, sort, put in a series, and group objects according to one or two attributes such as shape or size.

Math and Manipulatives

Make copies of the seed cycle and also the flower parts. Color and cover with contact paper. Let the children use these like puzzle.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; progresses in ability to put together and take shapes apart. AND Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates progress in abilities to retell and dictate stories from books and experiences; to act out stories in dramatic play; and to predict what will happen next in a story.

Outdoor Play

Go for a nature walk and look for seeds (grass, trees). Remember that acorns are seeds as are parts of the pinecone.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; chooses to participate in an increasing variety of tasks and activities.

Transitions

The children can pretend to be blown all whirly and twirly by the wind to their next activity.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; understands an increasingly complex and varied vocabulary.

Resources

Ten Apples Up On Top, by Dr. Seuss

What happens when three bears decide to put apples on top of their heads? Will they be able to keep them there? This is a fun 1-10 counting book for children.

Materials

Head shape and apple shape
Apple pattern cards
Enough apples for each child to have a piece of two-three different varieties to sample. Ask parents to send an apple to school for their child.

Vocabulary

Stack (to put one on top of another)

Before Reading the Story

Bring an apple to the rug. Ask the children if they know what it is. Ask the children who likes to eat apples? Ask if they can think of any food items made from apples (applesauce, apple pie, apple granola bars). Show the children the cover of the book. Read the cover and then have the children count to 10 holding up fingers to correspond. Count to ten then back down to one again.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; develops increasing ability to count in sequence to 10 and beyond.

Reading the Story

On various pages, stop and have the children help count the number of apples up on top.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to make use of one-to-one correspondence in counting objects and matching groups of objects.

After Reading the Story

Draw a simple tree on a large piece of easel paper. Have the children take turns rolling a dice and then drawing that many apples/circles onto the tree. Go around the circle several times until the children loose interest.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; progress in abilities to use writing, drawing, and art tools, including pencils, markers, chalk, paint brushes, and various types of technology.

Discovery

As the children go to science, give each an apple that they can cut apart with a plastic knife. Encourage them to look at the seeds through a magnifying glass. Talk about and help record the children’s observations using all their senses on how they describe the parts of the apple. (Tell me about the apple’s skin; tell me about what is inside the apple).

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to participate in simple investigations to test observations, discuss and draw conclusions, and form generalizations. AND Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes.

Music and Movement

Sing 10 Red Apples, to tune of ten little Indians

1 red, 2 red, 3 red apples

4 red, 5 red, 6 red apples

7 red, 8 red, 9 red apples

10 red apples on top.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; develops increasing ability to count in sequence to 10 and beyond.

Play Apple Round. Have the children sit in a circle and turn on some music. While the music is playing the children pass an apple around the circle. When the music stops whoever is holding the apple must tell how many fingers the teacher is holding up, 0-10. Then put on the music and begin again.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; demonstrates increasing interest and awareness if numbers and counting as a means for solving problems and determining quantity.

Give each child a bean bag to place on their head. Ask them to try touching their toes, walking backwards, turning in a circle, standing on on foot, etc. without letting the bean bag fall from their head.

Physical Health & Development/Gross Motor Skills; shows increasing levels of proficiency, control, and balance in walking, climbing, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, marching, and galloping.

Blocks

Encourage the children to make stacks of ten blocks.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to make use of one-to-one correspondence in counting objects and matching groups of objects. AND Physical Health & development/Fine Motor Skills; grows in hand-eye coordination in building with blocks, putting together puzzles, reproducing shapes and patterns, string beads, and using scissors.

Art

Put large apple shapes on the easel and let the children paint them however they choose.

Creative Arts/Art; develops growing abilities to plan, work independently, and demonstrate care and persistence in a variety of art projects.

Library and Writing;

Give children a head shape and ask them to draw facial features on it. Then give each child enough apples so each apple contains a letter of the child’s name (Kerry would have 5 apples, one with a K, one with an E, two with R and one with Y). Encourage the children to write the letters of their name in each apple shape. Ask the children to put them on top of the head in the correct order and glue. Talk about whose name has more apples and fewer apples. Whose name has more letters and fewer letters? Can the children name the letters?

Literacy/Early Writing; progresses from using scribbles, shapes, or pictures to represent ideas, to using letter-like symbols, to copying or writing familiar words such as their own name. AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to make use of one-to-one correspondence in counting objects and matching groups of objects. AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to use language to compare numbers of objects with terms such as meore, less, greater than, fewer, equal to.

Sand and Water

Put several apples in the water table. Notice how they float. What other objects in the classroom can the children find that will float?

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to participate in simple investigations to test observations, discuss and draw conclusions; and form generalizations.

Dramatic Play

As the children play in the center today, ask them if there is an apple in the pretend foods? What other fruits can they find in the pretend foods? What color apple is there? What other foods can they find that are the same color as the apple? Apples are crunchy to eat, what other foods can they find that would be crunchy to eat?

Approaches to Learning/Logic & Reasoning; develops increasing ability to find more than one solution to a question, task, or problem. AND Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows increasing abilities to match, sort, put in series, and regroup objects according to one or two attributes such as size or shape.Logic and Reasoning; classifies, compares, and contrasts objects, events, and experiences.

Math and Manipulatives

Color the apple pattern strips to show simple patterns using red, yellow, and green. The children can then match the pattern cards with small pieces of construction paper or unifix cubes.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; enhances abilities to recognize, duplicate, and extend simple patterns using a variety of materials.

Outdoor Play

Bring bean bags outside with you. Play a follow the leader type game. Show the children how to balance the bean bags on their head, their arm, and their foot and move about. Can they climb the stairs with a beanbag on their head? Can they ride a bicycle with a beanbag on their head?

Physical Health & Development/Gross Motor Skills; shows increasing levels of proficiency, control, and balance in walking, climbing, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, marching, and galloping.

Transitions

Make a head from the head shape pattern and 10 apples. Cover these with contact paper and put a loop of tape on the back. Put the head on the wall or flannel board. Put some apples up on top (1-10). Say the following rhyme; Apples, Apples up on top. Count them _____before they drop! The child who was called them counts the apples and is dismissed to the next activity.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to make use of one-to-one correspondence in counting objects and matching groups of objects.

Resources

Dear Parent,

Today we read a story about apples. As you prepare your meal tonight, ask your child if he can name the different foods that you are using. Talk to your child about foods. (I am cutting this onion to add to the ground beef to make a meatloaf. Smell this; this is garlic powder which I am adding also. Do you want green beans or peas to go with our meatloaf and potatoes tonight?)

Too Many Pears! by Jackie French

This is a book to teach children about fruit, especially pears. Pamela the cow just can’t seem to get enough pears. This is a fun book to help the children try to problem solve how to stop Pamela from eating all the pears!

Materials

Several pears and a plastic knife to cut.
Pretty bowl
One-inch strips of colored paper in read, yellow, and green
Many pear shapes cut from yellow, green, and red paper. (Approx 15 per child)
5-10 paint sticks (free where you buy paint) and string/yarn to hang them outside

Vocabulary

Orchard (a place where fruit and or nut trees grow.)

Before Reading the Story

Begin a discussion about favorite foods. Ask the children what happens if they eat too much food (I throw up, my belly gets hurting, I burp really, really loud). Show the children the cover of the book. Ask them how they think Pamela is feeling? Slowly read the cover of the book sounding out the words. Watch to see if any children are able to recognize beginning letters and their sounds.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; grows in eagerness to learn about and discuss a growing range of topics, ideas, and tasks.

Reading the Story

Stop when you get to the page where Pamela is tied to a tree. Ask the children to help think of ways to keep Pamela from eating all the pears. Write their ideas down on chart paper.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; shows growing interest in listening to and discussing a variety of fiction and non-fiction and poetry.

After Reading the Story

Bring in a pear so that the children can try a small piece. How does it smell and taste? Make a graph that shows I like pears/I do not like pears. The children can write their name on the corresponding side after they taste the pear. After all the children have put their name on the pear graph, ask them if more or less children liked the pears. How many children in total said they liked pears?

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to use senses and a variety of tools and simple measuring devices to gather information, investigate materials, and observe processes and relationships. AND Mathematics/Number & Operation; begins to use language to compare numbers of objects with such terms as more, less, greater than, fewer, equal to.

Discovery

While you are preparing a pear for the children to taste test, pass one around so that the children may smell it and feel it. Open it up and show the children the seeds inside. Are there a lot of seeds or just a few? What color are they? Bring in two different kinds of pears, are they the same inside?

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to use senses and a variety of tools and simple measuring devices to gather information, investigate materials, and observe processes and relationships.

Music and Movement

Do the Pear poem with the children. As you say the poem make up simple actions for the children to do.

Way up high in the pear tree,

Two yellow pears smiled down on me.

So I shook that tree as hard as I could

And down fell the pears and were they good!

Creative Arts/Music; participates with increasing interest and enjoyment in a variety of music activities, including listening, singing, finger plays, games, and poems.

Sing Where Oh Where Are All the Children?, to Way Down Yonder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVeFvSs9FTo

Where oh where are all the children,

Where oh where are all the children?

Where oh where are all the children,

Way down yonder in the pear orchard.

Picking pears, put them in the basket,

Picking pears, put them in the basket.

Picking pears, put them in the basket

Way do yonder in the pear orchard.

(Cutting cabbage, pulling carrots, picking strawberries, lifting watermelons, etc.)

Creative Arts/Music; participates with increasing interest and enjoyment in a variety of music activities, including listening, singing, finger plays, games, and poems. AND Science/Science Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, living things, materials, and natural processes.

Blocks

Attach 5-10 yellow pear shapes, orange orange shapes, and red apple shapes to blocks and ask the children to sort by kinds or make a pattern.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; enhances abilities to recognize, duplicate, and extend simple patterns using a variety of materials.

Art

Cut out large fruit shapes and put them at the easel for the children to paint.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; progresses in abilities to use writing, drawing, and art tools, including pencils, markers, chalk, paint brushes, and various technology.

Library and Writing

Give each child a cow shape. Ask them to glue it too the paper and draw a picture about their idea to stop Pamela. Dictate. Use the chart paper from rug time to review and get the children started.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates progress in abilities to retell and dictate stories from books and experiences; to act out stories in dramatic play; and to predict what will happen next in a story. AND Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; develops increasing ability to find more than one solution to a question, task, or problem.

Sand and Water

Put the strips of colored paper into the sensory table today along with scissors. The children practice snipping squares. Gather the squares and make a class collage on a pear shape from the easel.

Physical Health & Development/Fine motor Skills; develops growing strength, dexterity, and control needed to use tools such as scissors, paper punch, stapler, and hammer.

Dramatic Play

Put all the plastic fruits into a large bowl today and put it out on the kitchen table. As the children play in dramatics today, ask them if they can name all the fruits in the bowl. Do they know where the fruits grow, a tree, a vine, or a plant?

Science/Science Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, living things, materials, and natural processes. AND Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; uses an increasing complex and varied spoken language.

Math and Manipulatives

Put the many pear shapes out on the table with glue or paste. On a piece of per, one per child, write the numbers 1-5 going down the side. The children then glue the corresponding number of pears beside each number. Making simple number charts 1-5.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to use one-to-one correspondence in counting objects and matching groups of objects.

Outdoor Play

Hang paint sticks from tree branches on your playground. The children can jump to try to hit, throw balls at them, or use sticks to bat them.

Physical Health & Development/Gross Motor Skills; demonstrates increasing abilities to coordinate movements in throwing, catching, kicking, bouncing balls, and using the slide and swing.

Transitions

Play, What would you do? Give the children scenarios that they may encounter at school or home and let them tell what they would do. (What would you do if you saw a strange dog running around your yard? What would you do if you were hungry? What would you do if you wanted a toy that your friend has? What would you do if you saw a water bottle on the table and you were thirsty? What would you do if your friend was playing with matches? What would you do if you were playing outside and you heard thunder? What would you do if…)?

Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; builds awareness and ability to follow basic health and safety rules such as fire safety, traffic and pedestrian safety, and responding appropriately to potentially harmful objects, substances, and activities. AND Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; develops increasing ability to find more than one solution to a question, task, or problem.