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Objective: Children will be able to describe the plant growth process from seedling, to fruit, to harvest. Children will understand that water, fruits, vegetables, and physical activity will help them grow.
Key Concepts: Children ages 2-5 years old experience rapid physical development. Just as plants need water and sunshine to grow healthfully, children need water, nutrients from fruits and vegetables, and physical activity to grow. A diet rich in nutrients and a physically active lifestyle are essential to human growth and development.
Materials Needed
“Plant Splash Relay” game instructions
2 Baskets
Small blue balls for each child
Unit 5 discussion card
Book: Pumpkin, Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington
Poster with pumpkin cutouts
“Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” song lyrics
Tummy Mindfulness and Experiential Eating protocol
Fruit, vegetables, and napkins for tasting
Tummy dolls
Watering cans
“Seedling Song” lyrics
“Follow the Leader” game instructions
Measuring tape
Diet or Physical Activity Guideline or Recommendation
2000 CDC Growth Charts for the United States: Methods and Development (CDC): http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/2000growthchart-us.pdf
Facts about child development (CDC): https://www.cdc.gov/child-development/about/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/facts.html
Preschooler Development (Medline): http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002013.htm
Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Policies (IOM): Recommendation 3-1, Recommendation 3-2, Recommendation 3-4, Recommendation 4-2, Recommendation 4-4, Recommendation 4-6 http://bit.ly/2l5K6aD
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.B.05, Curriculum 2.C.03, Curriculum 2.C.04, Curriculum 2.D.02, Curriculum 2.D.03,
Curriculum 2.D.07, Curriculum 2.F.02, Curriculum 2.G.02, Curriculum 2.G.06, Curriculum 2.G.08, Curriculum 2.K.01, Health Standard 5.A.06
Review [10 minutes—game]
Game: In order to review the importance of drinking water and watering the plants, the children play the “Plant Splash Relay” game.
Classroom Activity [15 minutes—discussion, song]
Discussion 5a: This Unit builds upon the previous Unit as we continue to talk about growth and development in children and plants. Choose one of the two activities below and alternate between them each time this Unit is implemented.
The teacher reads Pumpkin, Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington. The children act out each page of the book as it is read. For example, we start crouched down, then we grow as the pumpkin grows, and when he carves a face out of the pumpkin, we tell them to make their best pumpkin face.
Children review the growth process of a pumpkin using the poster with cutout pictures of the story. Ask the children to act out what they see in the pictures.
Song: The teacher explains that just as plants grow up to be big and strong, so do we. The teacher leads the children in the “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes!” song.
Instruct the children to place both hands on the part of the body as they are mentioned. Walk through each body part to ensure they understand before starting. Repeat the song several times and speed up with each verse.
Lyrics
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, Knees, and toes.
Head shoulders, knees and toes, Knees, and toes.
And eyes, and ears, and mouth, And nose.
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, Knees, and toes.
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 are 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 appropriate 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’re feeling hungry or if they’re feeling full. 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 full, 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 images).
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—garden maintenance, song, garden exploration, game]
Garden Maintenance and Song: The teacher leads the children outdoors to water the garden. Once finished, the students set their water cans down. Encourage students to sing the “Seedling Song” while they water.
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 fruits and vegetables for growing, the teacher leads the students in a game of “Follow the Leader.”
The teacher chooses one of the children to be the leader and the rest of the children line up behind the leader or stand around the leader on the playground.
The teacher teaches the children a simple chant, “[Janet] is growing big and strong, look what she can do!”
The child who is the leader chooses an action such as skipping or hopping around the playground, the children follow the leader until the teacher yells out “Stop!” If necessary, the teacher can suggest actions for the child leader to choose from or tell the children what activity to perform. Options include digging, raking, jumping jacks, hopping side to side, silly dance, etc.
The teacher chooses a new leader and repeats the change, “Kate is growing big and strong, look what she can do!” Repeat this game until several children have had a chance to play.
Wrap Up/Review [5 minutes—discussion]
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)
The teacher measures the lima bean so that we can continue to chart its growth.
Discussion 5b: The teacher reviews the current and past Unit concepts.
The teacher asks the children what plants need to grow healthy and strong (prompt the children to identify water, sunshine, and soil).
The teacher then transitions over to the drying leaf and shows the children what has happened to the leaf now that it is dried out.
The teacher prompts the children with questions such as “What does the leaf feel like?” “What does the leaf look like?,” “Why has it changed from being soft and green to brown and dry?”
The teacher asks the children what they need to grow (prompt the children to identify fruits, vegetables, water, and physical activity).
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