Learning About Flowers: Day 1 (Easy Preschool At Home)
I know in some parts of the United States, it’s already quickly turning into summer. Here in upstate New York, we’re just getting our first reliable taste of spring weather. A week spent learning about flowers, plants, and seeds may seem a little late for most of you, but the timing is perfect for my son. Keep reading to see how we spent our first day of the week learning about flowers together.
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LEARNING ABOUT FLOWERS, PLANTS, + SEEDS: WEEK 2 dAY 1
Flowers, Plants, and Seeds: Day 1 Ideas
Letter of the day:
F is for flower. I created a simple free printable ‘F is for Flower’ page on Twisty Noodle. My son used colorful flower stickers to decorate his F.
Word of the day:
Instead of working on his name, my kiddo wrote ‘flower’ with 4 different writing instruments. (I grabbed that printable page from First And Kinder Blue SKies on Teachers Pay Teachers!)
Book of the day:
National Geographic Kids: Seed To Plant. by Kristin Baird Rattini
Journal prompt of the day:
These are 3 things plants need to grow…
Activities and play we enjoyed:
My 4 year old is very into singing, so we spent some time singing a fun song together while learning about flowers. We added in some movement, and had the baby play too, to make it more fun.
We worked on a ‘Parts Of A Flower’ science notebook page together. My kiddo is a bit delayed with fine motor skills, so he gets crabby if he colors or writes for too long at a time. As a compromise, we both colored parts of the notebook page, and I did the cutting. (Scissor skills are a work in progress right now!) He helped tape the pieces down with double sided tape. (We used markers for our page because if he’s reluctant to write or draw, markers are usually the key to draw him in.)
I also printed some flower shape Play-Doh mats for him to use, since we don’t use Play-Doh nearly enough around here! He used his fingers and some assorted tools to work on shaping the dough into the shapes of the flowers’ centers and leaves. I slid the pages into plastic sleeves before letting him loose with the dough, so we’ll be able to re-use the pages in the future. (Laminating would also work!)
YOU MAY NEED THESE FOR LEARNING ABOUT FLOWERS, PLANTS, + SEEDS…
colored pencils / crayons / markers / transparent tape / pens / scissors / pencils / double sided tape / composition notebook / index cards / plastic sheet protectors / play-doh / play-doh tools / laminating sheets
But PLEASE Remember…
This is what is working for us during the pandemic, for the time being. It may seem overwhelming to your family to attempt anything like this. Or if you’re like me, you may welcome a little structure in your days. It’s important for you to consider the needs, emotional health, and learning styles of your entire family, and make adjustments as needed. The goal is NEVER more stress, more comparisons, or more guilt.
Keeping the above in mind, here’s a little bit more about our process…
- We’re aiming for about an hour of ‘school-ish’ work a day. This might included coloring, painting, writing, drawing, stickers, and more. My 4 year old is used to attending UPK for two and a half hours a day, 5 days a week, so 1 hour seemed like a good starting point at home.
- I build a ton of breaks and flexibility into our days and weeks. I plan 5 days of ‘school’ each week, and we generally accomplish all the activities by stretching them out over 7 total days. Some Wednesdays, we just can’t do school. So we’ll make it up later, if we can. Again, the goal isn’t stress or pressure, so flexibility is key.
- Variety is helpful for my kiddo. His attention span is short, so most of what I plan is quick, and we change styles of learning often. You know what will work best for your own families.
- Our journal is simply a basic notebook. Every day, I provide a prompt, and my child draws a picture on a blank index card. I tape that into the notebook, and write most of the prompt. At least one or two words are written larger, in dots, so my son can trace them.
- I have a pretty well stocked supply of craft and learning materials already, and know that may not be the case for you. Be creative, be flexible, and be open to compromise! We also have a large home library for the kids, which is very helpful right now!
