Today's Classroom Activities :

A Classroom Garden

Color My Garden
Science/Nutrition Provide vegetable and fruit shapes all on white paper. Help students determine which grow above the ground and which below, which on trees and which on plants. Then encourage the children to color the pictures appropriately and place them on a bulletin board representing how/where they grow.

Does Your Garden Grow?
Science Use waterproof household cement to glue a pine cone in the center of an aluminum pie plate. Stand up the pine cone so it resembles a tree. After the glue dries, sprinkle grass seed into the pine cone and fill the pie plate with one inch of water. Refill the water when necessary. After a few days, what happens? How did the grass seed receive the water it needed?

Wood Garden
Art/Science Have each student bring in a small piece of a fallen tree branch. Place each piece of wood into a pie tin. Water the wood pieces well, allowing some water to sit in the bottom of the tins. Next, sprinkle grass seed over the watered branches. Be sure to keep the wood moist and out of direct sunlight until the seeds sprout. How do your students think that the grass was able to grow without soil?

Summer Seedlings
Science Get each student started gardening with a small potted tomato plant. Keep two or three extra ones growing in the classroom, just in case. Have each student keep records on growth, watering, first blossoms, etc. Have photographs taken throughout the process in school and expect that to continue over the summer by sending a plant home with each student. Gather with this former class for a tomato luncheon when school reopens to compare graphs, records, photos and tomatoes.

Dried Vs. Soaked Beans
Students will observe the differences between a dry and soaked bean, and identify the functions and parts of a bean at the beginning of its growth.

Inside a Seed
Students will look inside seeds to discover the beginning of a plant, and will discuss elements that plants need to grow.

Designing a Native Plants Garden
In this lesson, students will compare native vegetation in different parts of the United States. They will then explore Web sites to learn about native plants in their own region, and design gardens containing those local plants.