Natural resources

These were developed for a child who has limited access to an outside garden. His interest on growing things is huge and these resources where home made for him, and others to explore and learn about the natural environment. The feedback from the caregivers has been great, and they have been impressed by the amount of interest the children have shown in the “grass growing people

Look at these three different activities...............................

1) Grass People                                   2)  Magic in a Pot                                 3)   Pocket Plots

Science ideas

Identifying living things: cutting pictures from old magazines, matching into groups such as; grows in the garden, lives in water, hairy, lives on a farm, flies in the air etc, paste into scrapbooks or onto paper.  Encourage the child to talk about features of the animals and make links with other of the same features or make comparisons of differences, encourage vocabulary development and use of description.

Making a mini greenhouse: cut a plastic bottle in half and seal together again with sellotape after adding potting mix or soil and a small plant to the bottom half. Encourages observation skills of condensation and plant growth.

Exploring textures: look at items such as skin, clothing, cicada skins, tree bark, rocks or moss through a magnifying glass. Encouraging discussion of what the object looks like.

Discovering metals:  use magnets to identify metals in their environment. Make a fishing game with fish shapes, metal paperclips and a magnet on a string attached to a stick or small pole.

Exploring materials: make a feely box or bag by putting in different textured items, such as cotton wool, plastic bubble wrap, a tissue, tinfoil or other familiar household items. Encourage the child to talk about what the item feels like before they name it or pull it out and have a look at the item

Growing carrot tops: a carrot top on top of damp tissue or cotton wool on a saucer will grow new greenery without roots, soil or even a pot.

Pinecone bird feeders

Resources needed: Small to medium sized pinecones, string, margarine and bird seed.

Method:

·     Attach the string to the pinecone.

·     The child can then spread the margarine over the pinecone. This can be a bit messy but.... hey!!! that’s how we like it!

·     Tip some of the bird seed in a bowl and get the child to roll the pinecone in the bird seed.

·     Attach the pinecone to a branch where the children can see the birds enjoying their efforts.

·     To extend the children’s interest you could use a book of native birds to identify the birds that come to visit or even make a little chart for them to check off the birds that they see.

Interest in butterflies

Butterfly Footprints –Here is an idea that is fun for all the children to have a go, maybe with a little help from an adult.

What You Need - Large White Paper, Paint, Markers, Glitter, or other Decorating Materials.

What You Do - Put the children's footprints on the paper (separated to make wings of a butterfly) then, after they have dried, let the children design their own unique butterfly.  This art activity contributes and encourages preschool children's "Language development through group participation, questions, speculation and conversation as you can introduce concepts of science, nature, and have fun using different mediums.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a fun book to read (Maybe you could get this from the library) and use as a resource. It is good for teaching nutrition, counting, science (stages of a butterfly) and the days of the week.   In the light of the moon a little egg is laid on a leaf. So begins Eric Carle's classic, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". This book follows the ravenous caterpillar's path as he eats his way through one apple (and the pages of the book itself) on Monday, two pears on Tuesday, three plums on Wednesday, and so on, through cherry pie and sausage - -until he is really fat and has a stomach ache -- I bet you can guess what happens then!