Thanks to http://www.montessoriforeveryone.com/ we get some insight to all those activities that children may find very interesting and fun to do, at the same time they learn about things around them.
Stem Nomenclature cards - A good time to introduce this activity will be around Spring when the trees are just budding and children can see the parts naturally. Else whenever your child is ready - so keep observing, s/he may be getting ready !
You can buy this card set from the website http://www.montessoriforeveryone.com/Parts-of-a-Stem-Nomenclature-Cards_p_193.html or you can make them by hand. I like to make these cards by myself in the form of a small book. I had also noticed that children love to own things, for example - a pen, a book, a lunch box, cards and small things like these. They love to say to others, "This is my book." or, "Look, I made this for my daddy." They have a sense of owning small objects. Specially if is made by them. So, I try to keep things in my classroom that are easy to make by children themselves. It is just me, but you can do it the way you want to.
We will make 2 books, one for control of error and second an exercise book. Take eight 5"x5" sheets of paper for each of the eight parts: stem, main stem, secondary stem, node, internode, axil, main bud and secondary bud, draw one stem on each paper, just an outline. Make a blank space under the stem, this will be used by children to label the part, staple all the eight papers together from the sides, so as to make it look like a small book. This is an exercise book for your child. For the second book, you can either photocopy or trace the stem from the first. The idea here is to make the exact same stem to avoid any confusion in the child's mind. In the second book, I color that specific part of the stem matching the label, as shown in the image, to isolate and highlight the name.The images below will help with the positions of the other parts of the stem -
This activity can be done by children of 3 yrs and above, with some variations. A 3 year old will color each part of the stem as shown in the control of error book, the teacher names the part of the stem verbally while he repeats after her. Younger children love to color and they will ask for these books a lot of times.To your surprise they do remember the names of the parts of the stem and will tell you while you will be in your garden, "I saw a node on the stem." Later, they want to know so much more about it. They will all be full of questions : when's, what's and how's. Be prepared for all those questions, for example, When will the node grow ? How long will it take ? :) Inquisitive minds !!
As for our older kids ( 5 and above ), they color the part of the stem, write the labels and remember the names. Later, I add some definition sheets for each part of the stem which children can use for matching. You can also buy definition booklets from the website - http://www.maitrilearning.com/books.html or make your own or you can tell your child verbally. For a 5 year old, this exercise helps to enhance their vocabulary, introduction to Botany, learning names of the parts of the stem and realizing that there is a life in the plants and that we should take care of them and not hurt them.
Yes, I will add the Science and Geography curriculum soon on my blog ! Thanks for your patience.
Stem Nomenclature cards - A good time to introduce this activity will be around Spring when the trees are just budding and children can see the parts naturally. Else whenever your child is ready - so keep observing, s/he may be getting ready !
We will make 2 books, one for control of error and second an exercise book. Take eight 5"x5" sheets of paper for each of the eight parts: stem, main stem, secondary stem, node, internode, axil, main bud and secondary bud, draw one stem on each paper, just an outline. Make a blank space under the stem, this will be used by children to label the part, staple all the eight papers together from the sides, so as to make it look like a small book. This is an exercise book for your child. For the second book, you can either photocopy or trace the stem from the first. The idea here is to make the exact same stem to avoid any confusion in the child's mind. In the second book, I color that specific part of the stem matching the label, as shown in the image, to isolate and highlight the name.The images below will help with the positions of the other parts of the stem -
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| image taken from www.aquascapingworld.com |
This activity can be done by children of 3 yrs and above, with some variations. A 3 year old will color each part of the stem as shown in the control of error book, the teacher names the part of the stem verbally while he repeats after her. Younger children love to color and they will ask for these books a lot of times.To your surprise they do remember the names of the parts of the stem and will tell you while you will be in your garden, "I saw a node on the stem." Later, they want to know so much more about it. They will all be full of questions : when's, what's and how's. Be prepared for all those questions, for example, When will the node grow ? How long will it take ? :) Inquisitive minds !!
As for our older kids ( 5 and above ), they color the part of the stem, write the labels and remember the names. Later, I add some definition sheets for each part of the stem which children can use for matching. You can also buy definition booklets from the website - http://www.maitrilearning.com/books.html or make your own or you can tell your child verbally. For a 5 year old, this exercise helps to enhance their vocabulary, introduction to Botany, learning names of the parts of the stem and realizing that there is a life in the plants and that we should take care of them and not hurt them.
Yes, I will add the Science and Geography curriculum soon on my blog ! Thanks for your patience.
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