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 monthly newsletter!   ACTIVITY Garden Treasures By Rae Ann Hirsh Gardens are full of tiny treasures. This activity encourages the child to look at seeds as treasures. It also encourages the child to appreciate nature’s gifts and to look forward to harvest time. Curriculum Area Science Before You Start Place one of each kind of seed into a small treasure box for each child. Let's Begin 1. Tell the children that nature provides us with many treasures. You have brought some of those very special treasures with you today. 2. Show the children one of the treasure boxes. Tell them that inside there is a magic wand, a giant, Jack’s beanstalk, a fierce dragon, and princess perfume. 3. Pass out the treasure boxes and have each child open them. Encourage them to talk about what’s inside. When they discover that nothing is inside except for seeds, ask them why they think you said there was a magic wand, a giant, Jack’s beanstalk, a dragon, and perfume inside the box. 4. Ask what these special treasure seeds might turn into. Ask the children to guess what kinds of seeds are in the box. 5. Have the children take their treasure boxes outside. 6. Ask the children to find the bulb, explain that it is a liatris bulb whose flowers look like magic wands. Have the children plant their liatris bulbs together. 7. Pull out the mammoth sunflower seeds and then tell the children what kind of seed they are and have them plant their sunflower seeds together. Look at the beanpole seeds, tell the children what they are, and plant them around the sticks arranged in a teepee pattern. 8. Repeat this for each seed until everything is planted. 9. Invite the children make garden signs that read “Magic wands,” “Giants,” “Dragons,” etc. and place the signs next to where those type of flowers are growing. 10. Encourage the children to draw pictures of what they think these particular plants will grow into. Furthermore Water and care for these special treasures until they grow.   Tweet Small wooden treasure boxes from a craft store Liatris bulb Mammoth sunflower seeds Scarlet Runner Pole bean seeds Snapdragon seeds Lavender seeds Long bamboo sticks tied to form a teepee shape (for the pole beans to climb) Wooden Treasure Boxes - Set of 12 Watering Can White Sulphite Paper, 9" x 12" - 500 Sheets Colorations® Marker & Crayon Combo Pack- 400 Pieces 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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