There is not a better summer theme for preschool lesson plans than that of gardening! What an exciting opportunity to teach young minds about the beauty and excitement of growing things from seed!
Book for Preschool Lesson Plan: Gardening
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
Reading Center for Preschool Lesson Plan: Gardening
Fill your preschool reading center not only with books about flower gardening, but also with books about vegetable gardening and container gardening.
Snacks for Preschool Lesson Plan: Gardening
-sunflower seeds
-flower shaped sugar cookies
-dirt cups: chocolate pudding topped with crushed chocoate cookies and gummy worms
Concepts for Preschool Lesson Plan: Gardening
Letter: G/g for gardening
Number: 5
Color: green for flower stems and leaves
Shape: oval for flower petals
Fine Motor Activity for Preschool Lesson Plan: Gardening
Provide your preschool students with plastic planters, soil, seeds, seedlings and flowers. Let them plant to their hearts’ delight! Pushing the seeds into the soil and using a trowel and spade are great fine motor activities for youngsters.
Gross Motor Activity for Preschool Lesson Plan: Gardening
Play pretend that you are a seed sprouting into a plant. Lead your students in this movement activity. Finally, hold your face up to the sun and put your hands over your head with fingers spread. You are a flower!
Art Center Activity for Preschool Lesson Plan: Gardening
Let’s get back to basics. Give each student a sheet of white paper and a set of crayons. Instruct them to draw a garden or a flower. You might also set out stencils cut in flower shapes. Ask them what kind of flowers they are drawing and what colors they are. As always, keep in mind that it is the process that is important, not the product.
Songs/Fingerplays/Rhymes for Preschool Lesson Plan: Gardening
Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, How Does Your Garden Grow
Pre-math Center Activity for Preschool Lesson Plan: Gardening
Set out cutouts of colorful construction paper flower petals, green leaves and stems. Also set out sheets of paper with a number between 1 and 10 on them. Instruct your students to make flowers, using the numbers on the papers as the number of petals of their flowers.
Pre-writing Center Activities for Preschool Lesson Plan: Gardening
For younger students, provide sheets of paper with the letters G and g lightly printed on them. Have the children trace the letters. do the same with the number 5.
For older students, provide an example of the letters G and g and the number 5. Have the students practice writing the letters and number freehand.
Small Group Activities for Preschool Lesson Plan: Gardening
Set out construction paper petals of different colors, stems and leaves. Let small groups of your students work together to match colors while making a garden of flowers. Encourage your preschoolers to tell you the colors of the petals. Have your preschool students count the petals on each flower once it has been constructed.
Large Group Activity for Preschool Lesson Plan: Gardening
Place a sheet of white butcher paper across your bulletin board. Have your preschool students put their hands, palms down, on colorful ink stamp pads. Then have them press their palms on the paper. Add stems and leaves to the handprint leaves and you will have a bright and cheerful bulletin board display!
Sensory Activity for Preschool Lesson Plan: Gardening
Fill your sensory table with lima beans or the contents of seed packets. Add toy cars and trucks.
Dramatic Play Activities for Preschool Lesson Plan: Gardening
Add galoshes and toy rakes, spades, buckets, plastic planters and silk flowers to your classroom’s dramatic play area. Let your students pretend to garden. Oh, push poppers can be used as pretend lawnmowers, also!
I hope that you enjoy the opportunity to introduce your preschool students to the wonders of biology. Have fun gardening!
