Home Hot Topics Articles About Us / Contact Us Activities & Curriculum Activities for Outcome-Based Learning Arts & Crafts Music for Learning Recommended Reading ECN Radio NEWSlink How to Get a School Grant Movement, Play and Physical Activity for Children Topics In Early Childhood Education Art and Creativity in Early Childhood Education Job Sharing Board State Licensing Requirements Subscribe today to our bi-weekly newsletter!   ACTIVITY Choosing Garden Plants (Part 2) By Rae Ann Hirsh Visualizing plans for a garden can be difficult. This activity helps to develop spatial and measurement skills as the school-age child constructs a three-dimensional garden plan. This activity is part two of the three-part garden project. Curriculum Area Science, Spatial Relationships, Sensory Development, Fine Motor Skills, Cooperative Play Before You Start Put the wet sand into shallow plastic containers. Gather the drawings of plants made in the previous activity and have them available for the children to use. Let's Begin 1. Put the children into the groups chosen in the previous activity. Explain that today they are going to make plans for how they are going to plant their garden. 2. Give each group a container of wet sand. Tell the children to pick plants from their drawings that they will use in their garden. 3. Tape each drawing to a toothpick. Have them measure and square off a six-inch by six-inch plot for their garden. 4. Have the children work together to choose plants and arrange their toothpick plants in the sand garden plot. (This model will serve as a scaled-down version of the garden they will plant in the next activity on a six-foot by six-foot plot outside.) 5. Tell the children to measure distances between plants, making sure they are giving plants enough room to grow. Encourage them to think about where tall plants should go, where short plants should go and so on. 6. After the toothpick plants are organized, have each group put together a plant order. Furthermore Keep the plots as plans for their garden in the next activity. Check the plant orders for accuracy and then order the plants needed for the garden. Plan a field trip where the children can go and choose their plants for their themed garden. Consider holding a fundraiser to raise money to purchase the plants.   Tweet Wet sand Toothpicks Pictures of plants made in a previous activity Tape Shallow plastic containers Best Value Tape Set of 6 Buckets in 3 Sizes Sand & Water Activity Tubs - Set of 4 Fine White Sand Articles and activities listed on this website may be printed for single use. No article or activity may be duplicated or distributed in any form, in whole or in part, without permission from the publisher, Excelligence Learning Corporation. Contact Permissions Department.

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