Chip Bee Science Play Dates
春种一粒粟，秋收万颗子
GREAT OUTCOMES FROM SMALL BEGINNINGS
Grow Seed, Grow! 种子，快快长大！
This week, we learn about growing! We will see how different seeds make different plants, and how to plant a seed. Object permanence also features strongly (if I can’t see something, does it still exist?), we talk about gravity (having fun with ‘up’ and ‘down’) as well as lots of games, songs, and play. We will play with soil this week, so please come prepared to get dirty!
Our book this week is Eric Carl’s “The Tiny Seed” (小种子) a story about the journey of a seed that falls from a tree and travels across many challenges before settling and becoming a beautiful flower. A reminder: please ensure all children are accompanied by a parent or guardian and bring their art sketchbook.
Our aim is for the children to have fun, give them an opportunity to socialise, and develop a love for learning and a sense of curiosity. Secondary to this, we note that schools sometimes have steep and at times stressful learning curves in P1, so if we can make this journey easier by introducing concepts early and in a way children experience only as fun games, we hope to encourage confidence and give them an easier start to school later on. Each lesson is linked to the MOE curriculum in an age-appropriate way, and you can check the learning outcomes to see what is covered. Please note though, that this is a non-commercial collaborative play date, so whilst we do our best, keep in mind we are not a formal school.
Botany: Tiny Seeds!
We start with a song, then read snippets from Eric Carle’s “The Tiny Seed”. We explain what a seed is, and let the children look and play with a seed (large peanut). We then explore object permanence, hiding seeds and discovering them. The children learn that the seeds still exist, even if they can’t see it. We will plant some seeds and encourage the children to water them with sponges, before playing the “stretch like a plant” game and drawing 长 (grow) in the sand.
Learning outcomes:
Science P3: Cycles in plants and animals (Life cycles)
Chinese P1: 树 (shù) – tree, 种子 (zhǒngzǐ) – seed, 水 (shuǐ) – water, 长 (zhǎng) – grow, 发芽 (fā yá) – sprout
Song: 上中文课 | Plant Growing Song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlZBhL6V9oQ
Maths: How many?
Together with our friends, we explore counting! We start with the catchy children’s counting song “我的朋友在哪里? Where are my friends?” and learn to count with groups of seeds and flowers. We introduce the abacus and learn to put different things in different groups for counting. We play groups of numbers, where children can join together to make the target number. Finally, we draw the first 3 numbers in the sandpit.
Learning outcomes:
Maths P1: counting to tell the number of objects in a given set (1.1) and comparing the number of objects in two or more sets (1.4).
Chinese P1: 一 (yī) – one, 二 (èr) – two, 三 (sān) – three, 四 (sì) – four, 五 (wǔ) – five, 六 (liù) – six, 七 (qī) – seven, 八 (bā) – eight, 九 (jiǔ) – nine, 十 (shí) – ten, 的 (de) – possessive particle, 我 (wǒ) – I, me, 在 (zài) – in, at, 朋友 (péngyǒu) – friend
Song: 我的朋友在哪里？(Where are my friends?) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6zhXla6iC8:
What can seeds become?
We talk more about the cycle of life and show where seeds come from, including watermelon, okra, pumpkin, pomegranate, and kiwifruit. We talk about how these fruits have different shapes, tastes, and colours and explain that one day, these seeds might produce the same fruits of their own! We will sing the traditional Chinese song “茉莉花, Jasmine Flower” and match seeds to fruit in our sketchbook.
Learning outcomes:
Science P3: Cycles in plants and animals (Life cycles)
Chinese P1: 水果 (shuǐguǒ) – fruit, 食物 (shíwù) – food, 形状 (xíngzhuàng) – shape, 颜色 (yánsè) – color, 味道 (wèidào) – taste
Song: 茉莉花 | Mo Li Hua | Jasmine Flower https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frcKDw9IVgY
Physics: Gravity!
Introduce the concept of “gravity” by showing them objects falling to the ground and explaining that gravity pulls things down. We ask, ‘Which way is up?’ and ‘Which way is down?’ We let children drop different objects to see them fall, then sing the song “I can jump!”. Then we will play the game “sky or ground”, where children jump or touch the ground.
Learning outcomes:
Science: Early introduction to directions and force
Chinese P1: 种子 (zhǒngzǐ) – seed, 向上 (xiàngshàng) – up, 向下 (xiàngxià) – down, 地面 (dìmiàn) – ground, 生长 (shēngzhǎng) – grow, 重力 (zhònglì) – gravity
Song: 我会跳 (I can jump!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0lTEAPVkbA
Chemistry: Colourful Celery
Just like us, plants need water! They absorb water through their stem. We bring this to life by placing celery in different coloured water pots to see it travel up the stem.
Learning outcomes:
Science P3: Describe the characteristics of living things. – Need water, food and air to survive – Grow, respond and reproduce.
Chinese P1: 红色 (hóngsè) – red, 黄色 (huángsè) – yellow, 蓝色 (lán sè) – blue, 绿色 (lǜsè) – green, 橙色 (chéngsè) – orange
Song: 再见歌, Goodbye Song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wED_ZaR8l2U