Chip Bee Science
春种一粒粟，秋收万颗子 – GREAT OUTCOMES come 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. 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.
Please ensure every child is accompanied by a guardian and wears clothes that can get dirty. Please also note that there are squirrels in the neighbourhood so we cannot guarantee against nuts being present. We don’t recommend joining if your child has a severe nut allergy. Also, please do not send sick children – please let me know as soon as possible if you can’t make it due to illness.
Plant Lifecycles
We will explore how plants germinate and grow, starting with our storybook of the week. 小种子 (The Tiny Seed) by Eric Carle. Then we play a stretching game where children become seeds that grow and spread their leaves. We also look at a plant lifecycle, from seed to plant, to flower, to pod, to seed.
Learning objectives: Plant lifecycles, gross motor skills of crouching then slowly standing, and copying choreography. See different stages of seed germination and plant growth.
Words: 花 (huā) – flower, 石 (shí) – stone, 长 (cháng) – long, 雨 (yǔ) – rain, 土 (tǔ) – earth, soil, 园 (yuán) – garden, 叶子 (yè zi) – leaf, 种子 (zhǒng zi) – seed, 树枝 (shù zhī) – stick
My Own Plant
Children each receive a cup and scooper and can scoop soil to plant their very own seed. We will watch as this grows over the weeks. They use a spray bottle to water the plant and we explain what plants need to be able to flourish. We place flowers in coloured water to watch them drink and set them aside to see what happens later in the lesson.
Learning objectives: Compare and contrast various aspects of the leaves, such as shape, textures, size, and color. Identify patterns between different and similar leaves and describe similarities and differences. Fine motor skills of picking up leaves and arranging them in matches. Working together in a team to match all the leaves.
Words: 长 (cháng) – long, 短 (duǎn) – short, 小 (xiǎo) – small, 大 (dà) – big, 厚 (hòu) – thick, 薄 (báo) – thin, 绿 (lǜ) – green, 棕色 (zōng sè) – brown, 杯子 (bēizi) cup, 勺子 (sháo zi) scoop
Seed Bingo
We sort different types of seeds and talk about how they differ in size, shape and colour. Then we count out matching sets for our counting mat. When we have the seeds counted out, we play bingo! Children place a sticker on the number called and the children practice numbers 1-6.
Learning Objectives: Learning that some things are more common than others. Learning basic numbers (1-5), counting and sorting.
Words: 一 (yī) – one, 二 (èr) – two, 三 (sān) – three, 四 (sì) – four, 五 (wǔ) – five, 分, 六 (liù), 类 (fēn lèi) – sort, 数数 (shǔ shù) – counting, 数字 (shù zì) – numbers, 宾果 (bīn guǒ)
Jack and the Beanstalk Puppets
It’s storytime again! Children can participate in this life stick puppet theatre explaining the beloved fairytale (with a twist). We learn that a little patience and dedication taking care of a plant can lead to lifelong friendships in new worlds! (Jack finds a lifelong friend when he climbs the beanstalk).
Learning objectives: We talk about caring for plants, animals and people, and the importance of patience. We also learn that friends can come in many shapes and sizes and that it’s important to be inclusive.
Words: 戏 (xì) – play, drama, 种 (zhǒng) – planted, 颗 (kē) – measure word for small, round items, 豆子 (dòuzi) – beans, 每天 (měitiān) – every day, 给 (gěi) – to give, 长 (zhǎng) – grow, 高 (gāo) – tall, 过 (guò) – pass, exceed, 小树 (xiǎo shù) – small tree, 一起 (yīqǐ) – together, 唱 (chàng) – sing, 歌 (gē) – song, 美 (měi) – beautiful
Colours and Flowers
We check in on our flowers drinking different coloured water and see how their petals change. We talk again about what plants need to flourish. Taking a blue pea from our plant lifecycle, we discover blue paint can be made, and paint a picture using the natural dye from the flower.
Learning objectives:
Words: 花 (huā) – flower, 画 (huà) – draw, paint, 白 (bái) – white, 红 (hóng) – red, 色 (sè) – color, 蓝色 (lán sè) blue, 绿色 (lǜ sè) green.