Conversation-Starters: Opportunities for Critical Thinking
Planning: Students learn about vegetables and express preferences for what they would like to grow in the garden.
What is a vegetable?
What is your favourite vegetable?
Where do vegetables come from?
What do vegetables need to grow? Do plants need sunlight? Should we plant a garden under a tree? Do plants need water? Should we have water close to the garden?
What should we plant in our garden?
Activity Suggestions:
Ask your child to go to their fridge or cupboards and see what vegetables they have
Have students draw what their vegetable garden will look like
Book suggestions: The Vegetables We Eat by Gail Gibbons, Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert
Starting from Seeds: Students plant seeds inside and monitor their growth over a period of approximately 3 weeks.
What do you think that seeds need to grow? How can we find out?
What is different about these seeds? What is the same?
Why do you think that seeds are different?
Do you think seeds are like humans? They start as babies (seeds) and grow to adults (vegetables on plants).
Activity Suggestions:
Display a variety of seeds for your child(ren) to examine
Keep plants in an accessible place for frequent monitoring of soil and growth
Next time they are using vegetables in a meal try to find the seed in it
Books to check out: Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert, How a Seed Grows by Helene J. Jordan
Planting Outdoors: Students plant seeds in the garden and transfer their seedlings from indoors. Students can learn how to use various garden tools for planting, weeding and watering.
How is it different using these tools in the sandbox and in the garden?
Do you find it easier to garden with your hands or with these tools?
Activity Suggestions:
Display various gardening tools; provide opportunities for use in the classroom in the sandbox
Books to check out: Hands by Lois Ehlert, Tools for the Garden by Mari Schuh
Observing Changes: Students look, smell and touch to discover changes in the plants as they grow.
What changes do you see/smell/touch in the garden today?
Which leaves look similar?
Which leaves look different?
Activity Suggestions
Sense check weekly in the garden (touch, smell, look)
Books to check out: From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons, The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss, One Bean by Anne Rockwell, And Then It’s Spring by Julie Fogliano
Creating & Organizing: Students create labels for plants in the gardens and make signs to welcome visitors to the garden.
How will we know what we planted?
How will others know what is growing in our garden?
Activity Suggestions:
Provide paint sticks, cut up pieces of blind and other materials for students to experiment with labeling
Display pre-made plant labels for students to examine
Maintaining & Weather Monitoring: Students take responsibility and ownership for the garden through watering and weeding. Remind children of the 4 things plants need (Water, Sunlight, Air and Nutrients)
Where can plants get water?
How can you help plants have water every day?
Do we need to help plants find sunlight if they live outside?
Do we need to help plants find air if they live outside?
What part of the garden gives plants their nutrients?
How can we help the plant to get the most food from the soil?
What can we do to help the plants have enough room to gather nutrients and grow?
What do you notice about the weather today? What does the weather tell us about how we need to care for the garden today?
How does is feel to work in the garden?
What would happen to the plants if we were not helping to take care of them?
Activity Suggestions:
Hands-on work in the garden each day
Make wind socks, rain gauges, etc. to help monitor the weather
Books to check out: I Am Water by Jean Marzollo, What Will the Weather Be Like Today? by Paul Rogers
Harvesting and preparing food from the garden: Students learn about when food is ready to be picked, how to harvest it, and the different uses for both cooked and raw vegetables.
Why is it important to eat healthy food each day?
Try each vegetable raw and cooked. What are the differences?
How does growing a garden help us to eat healthier?
Activity Suggestions
Provide vegetables for students to examine with all 5 senses
Place items in the creative play centre that lend themselves to cooking
Books to check out: This is the Way We Eat Our Food by Laine Falk, Gregory, the Terrible Eater by Mitchell Sharmal, Good Enough to Eat by Lizzy Rockwell
Exploring garden visitors: Students create habitats to attract some garden creatures (i.e. toad houses) and problem solve ways to protect their garden from other creatures.
Do you think that growing a garden changes the (number/type) of creatures that we have in our yard? How can we find out?
Are all creatures helpful to our garden? Why/why not?
How can we help to protect our garden?
Activity Suggestions
Look Closer – place a hula hoop outside (or create a smaller circle with a piece of string). Provide child(ren) with a magnifying glass to observe what is living inside the designated area. don’t be afraid to dig into the soil to observe the life in there!
Provide pictures, models of bugs, birds, toads, etc. with magnifying glasses.
Books to check out: Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner, Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! By Candace Fleming, Hey, Little Ant by Phillip and Hannah Hoose, Animals in the Garden by Mari Schuh
Throughout the process ongoing student-led inquiry: What do you know about growing vegetables? What do you want to find out? What if…? I wonder ....