Plants Aplenty!

Last week our class was immersed in plants.  Lots and LOTS of plants!!

We started the week tapping into our schema about plants and learning lots of new info.  

 

And then we moved right into diagrams and labels....and tree maps, too!  I created this same anchor chart last year and used it again this year to guide our independent writing and hands-on activities.

I made the kids responsible for adding to our tree map.  I love their inventive spelling :)

 

This year I had the kids assemble and label the parts of  a flower.

We used the info from our tree maps to create our little Flower Friends!  I've GOT to get these hung up...they're just too cute!

One of my kids' favorite activities from the week was our whole group math game...Flower Power!

This is how we played it last year..

This year I have a whole different set of kids, so we played the game a bit differently.  We tossed our little beanbags onto two different numbers and used the manipulatives to join those numbers together and then create a number sentence to match.  We talked about how we didn't need to worry about which number to write first in the equation because when you're joining two numbers {addends} together, it doesn't matter which number goes first. 

Then we took those same numbers and practiced subtraction  We first identified the largest number and counted out a set of manipulatives to match.  Then we talked about that sneaky ol' Linus the Minus who likes to take things away and then we removed that amount from the set.  The kids practiced writing number sentences for that, too.  They absolutely LOVED this game!  Sooooo...it's made its way into our math dessert tubs.  They are VERY eager to finish their work so they can play this game over & over!

Speaking of math, my kids were rockin' their plant themed math journal activities last week!  We used these cut & paste printables from my It's a Spring Thing! Interactive Math Printable packet and added these...and several more...to our math journals.  They're blossoming into such great little math minded thinkers!!

We celebrated Plant Day last Friday and spent the day investigating, measuring, & observing lots of different plants.  Then each of our kids got their own little pot and we planted seeds.  I bought three different seed packets and the whole time I was picking them out and was seriously sweating.  I have NO clue what flowers grow best.  I have a black thumb. This is definitely me....

I am *praying* we have at least a few that sprout.  I looked everywhere for rye grass, but to no avail.  Instead, I picked out Cosmos, Marigolds, and Portulacas.  The kids got to pick out which seed they wanted to plant, then we came back inside, added their names to our "Grow, Flower, Grow!" chart, and then read the book...

We are SO anxious to see which flower grows first!!!  

It was definitely a busy week.  If you want to read more about what we did during plant week last year, you can check it out HERE.

We're learning all about insects for the next couple of weeks!  Can't wait to share what we've been doing!!