Embedded Files
Objective: Children will be able to demonstrate the life cycle of a plant, detailing the planting, feeding, watering, growing, and harvesting process.
Key Concepts: Fruit and vegetables start as seeds that are planted in fertile soil and fed with plenty of water and sunshine in order to grow healthy and strong. Healthy plants bear fruit that is ready to be harvested and enjoyed when it is ripe. Just like plants, children go through a growth cycle where they develop new skills as they grow physically, emotionally, and mentally.
Materials Needed
“Bunny Hop” game instructions
Pictures of fruits and vegetables
“Oh, Do You Eat Your Vegetables” song lyrics
Unit 1 discussion card
“Seedling Song” lyrics
Tummy Mindfulness and Experiential Eating protocol
Fruit, vegetables, and napkins for tasting
Tummy dolls
Watering cans
“Red apple, green apple” game instructions
Pictures of yellow, green, and red apples
Lima bean experiment card
Supplies for planting lima beans (seed, moist paper towel, clear plastic bag, heavy tape)
NAEYC Recommendations Satisfied
Curriculum 2.A.03, Curriculum 2.A.08, Curriculum 2.A.10, Curriculum 2.A.11, Curriculum 2.A.12, Curriculum 2.C.03, Curriculum 2.C.04, Curriculum 2.D.02, Curriculum 2.D.03, Curriculum 2.D.07, Curriculum 2.G.02, Curriculum 2.G.06, Curriculum 2.G.08, Curriculum 2.K.01, Curriculum 5.A.06
Introduction [10 minutes—game]
Game: To start this unit, we are going to play a game to get warmed up called “Bunny Hop.”
Large pictures of fruits and vegetables are spread out around the playground.
The teacher tells the children to hop like a bunny to the fruit or vegetable that they like to eat the most.
The teacher calls on a few children and asks them “What is your name?” and “Why do you like to eat the fruit or vegetable that you are standing next to?”
The teacher then yells “Switch!” and the children are instructed to hop to another fruit or vegetable that they like to eat and stand next to that picture.
Each round, the teacher says something different. For example, on the next round the teacher tells the children to hop to a fruit or vegetable that they have never tried, one that grows on a tree, one that grows in the ground, or one that’s green.
The teacher plays the game until every child has been called upon.
Classroom Activities [20 minutes—song, discussion, song]
Song: The children are invited to stand in a circle as they are taught the “Oh, Do You Eat Your Vegetables” song (Sung to "Have You Seen the Muffin Man").
Lyrics:
Oh, do you eat your vegetables, vegetables, vegetables?
Oh, do you eat your vegetables-each and every day?
Oh, yes we eat our vegetables, vegetables, vegetables: Oh, yes we eat our vegetables-each and every day!
Oh, [Maria] eats green beans, green beans, green beans, Oh, [Maria] eats green beans-each and every day!
While singing, the children hold hands and skip around in a circle. Starting with the teacher, she/he goes into the center of the circle while saying their favorite vegetable or fruit and does a little dance while the children circle around them. The class skips around the teacher singing the song and adding the teacher’s name to the brackets. Next, the teacher chooses a student to go to the center by asking, “[Maria], what fruits or vegetables do you eat?” That student goes to the center while telling one of his/her favorite fruits or vegetables and this is repeated numerous times. (This can happen inside or outside as long as there is adequate room).
Discussion 1a: The teacher leads the children in an interactive discussion on how fruits and vegetables grow and teach the children about the plant life cycle:
All fruit and vegetables start as a seed: “Everyone crouch down low into a little ball”
Then they turn into sprouts: “Everyone stand up just a little bit” (Squatting position)
Then they become seedlings: “Stand up just a little bit more and raise your arms half way”
Then they become plants: “Stand up all the way with your arms raised”
Water and sunshine helps them grow: “Stand up on your tippy toes with your arms stretching to the sky”
And then they bear fruit: “Ball up your fists to represent the fruit”
Song: In order to review this concept, the teacher leads the children in the “Seedling Song” in order to further their understanding of the life cycle of a seed. Sing the chorus after getting the children in position for each stage of the life cycle of a seed, including seed, sprout, seedling, plant, and full grown plant bearing fruit. The song is repeated several times to get the children moving! Teacher(s) should join as well!
Chorus:
Water and sunshine every day, every day, every day
Water and sunshine every day and you grow, grow, grow
Start as a seed (everyone crouch down low into a little ball on the ground)
After getting water and sunlight, you start to grow into a sprout (everyone stand up just a little bit in a squatting position)
After more watering and sunlight, you become a seedling (stand up just a little bit more and raise your arms half way)
After even more watering and sunlight, you grow even taller into a plant (Stand up all the way with your arms raised)
After a few months, you’re a fully grown plant with fruit that is ready to be harvested (ball up your hands into fists and reach out or up, representing flowers and/or fruit/vegetables)
Mindful Eating [15 minutes—tummy mindfulness, experiential eating]
Tummy Mindfulness and Experiential Eating Protocol:
Direct children to wash their hands before their taste testing.
Food should be served to the children with gloved hands.
After washing their hands, the children are presented with fruits and vegetables from the garden (or grocery store if needed) to sample. Images of a body with an empty belly, too full belly, and just right belly will be available for the children to compare. The teacher describes the feelings of hunger and fullness to the children to increase their understanding of these concepts. They then discuss how every person eats a different amount of food to get a just right tummy and that it is important to pay attention to your body.
Lay out or hang up the Tummy Dolls, images of a body with an empty belly, too full belly, and just right belly
Before sampling the fruits and vegetables, the teacher asks the children if they are too full, just right, or hungry by asking them to point to the matching images.
The teacher then calls on a few children and asks them to describe what hunger or fullness feels like. The teacher tells the children to pay attention to if they are feeling hungry or if they are feeling just right. If they are hungry, the teacher lets the children know that eating more food will give them energy they need for the day. If they are just right, then that means their body already has the energy it needs, and they do not need to eat more at that time.
After sampling the fruits and vegetables, the teacher asks the children if they are too full, just right, or hungry (point to the Tummy Dolls).
While the children are tasting, encourage positive conversation by making statements and asking questions that prompt the children to identify the color, smell, taste, and texture of the fruit or vegetable they are tasting, the sounds they make when they bite and chew, and what do they feel happening inside their mouths while they are chewing. Avoid statements that are coercive, like “just take a polite taste,” or “everyone has to try it.”
For example:
“What sound was made when you chewed the celery? What do you feel happening inside your mouth while you chew? [That celery was really crunchy and juicy.]”
“How does the tomato taste?”
“What does the bell pepper smell like?”
“What does the cucumber feel like in your hand? [It’s nice and cool.]” “What color are the strawberries that we are tasting?”
Garden Activity [20 minutes—discussion, garden maintenance, song, garden exploration, game]
Discussion 1b: The teacher reminds the children that just as we sang, the garden needs water and sunshine to grow. Each student receives a watering can and is led outside to water the garden. Encourage students to sing the chorus to the “Seedling Song” while they water.
Chorus:
Water and sunshine every day, every day, every day
Water and sunshine every day and you grow, grow, grow
Garden Exploration: Using real fruits and vegetables, the teacher brings the children around the garden and shows the children the fruits and vegetables that are growing in the garden. Children are encouraged to identify the fruit or vegetable, its color, its shape, how it feels (i.e. smooth, fuzzy, etc.), what stage of the life cycle, what it needs to grow, and whether it is ready for harvesting.
Game: In order to emphasize the importance of eating fruit and vegetables to have energy for physical activity, the teacher leads the children in a game of “Red Apple, Green Apple.”
The children line up opposite of the teacher.
When the teacher holds up the green apple, the children begin performing an activity as they make their way toward the teacher. For example, the teacher may tell the children to hop like a grasshopper. When the green apple is showing then the children will hop like a grasshopper toward the teacher.
When the teacher holds up the red apple, the children stop doing the activity.
When the teacher holds up the yellow apple, then the children perform the activity very slowly.
Once the children reach the teacher on the opposite side of the room, then the children start over with a new activity.
Mindfulness Activity/Wrap Up/Review [10 minutes—mindfulness, discussion, science experiment]
Mindfulness Activity: There are three (3) Mindfulness activities available as Bonus Materials; (1) Art Activity, (2) Guided Meditation, and (3) Yoga Activity. You have the option of selecting one of these mindfulness activities to perform along with the Wrap-up and Review of each unit.
(See Mindfulness Activities for Objectives, Key Learning Concepts, Materials, and Instructions)
Discussion 1c: The teacher emphasizes the importance of eating fruits and vegetables in order to grow, and ends the conversation by asking the children, “Where do fruits and vegetables come from?” The teacher leads the children to answer that fruits and vegetables come from seeds.
Science Experiment: In order to further emphasize this concept, the teacher leads the children in planting a lima bean seed in front of the class. The lima bean seed is planted in a clear plastic bag with a very moist paper towel and taped to a window that gets sun. This allows the class to observe what happens to the seed and seedling over time, modeling the processes that are occurring outside in the garden.
Over the next 12 units, the teacher measures and charts the lima bean’s growth using a ruler (taking the measurements might be too complicated for the children so they can watch the teacher measure the plant).
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