Bents Green Pre-school Bulb planting
Implementation of Activity
At circle time I asked if anyone would like to come and plant some bulbs outside and was surprised at the number of volunteers as it was a cold day. Five children were picked out on the basis of who had their hands up first. I explained to the others that they would have a chance to do this at a later date.
I had already set up some of my resources earlier so we went straight outside. The children were able to access their own tools from our shed. Before we started I read a poem about a bulb growing and explained that this is what would happen to our bulbs.
I asked the children if anyone knew what we needed to do first. One boy replied “we need to fill up the pots with soil”. We then looked at an information photo book called “Soil” so they could see what the roots were doing and find out why plants need soil to survive.
One bag of soil was only half full so I asked them which they thought was the heaviest and they all pointed to the full bag! They began to fill the 2 pots with soil and at one point there was a race between the 2 pots to see who would fill theirs up first, consequently a lot of soil ended up on the floor, on their clothes and even in their hair. Once the pots were full I read out the names of the bulbs and 2 children said “we’ve got those in our garden”.
The bulbs were of varying sizes and one child began to group them by size. I talked about picking out the small or large bulb and asked them where they were going to place it in relation to the one they had just planted. One boy said “you need to make a hole for the bulb to go in”. Once the bulbs were planted I asked the children to sweep up the area which they did. They all helped to put away their tools and on the way back in we stopped to wash our hands which they all did independently.
Evaluation
This activity was successful. The children enjoyed being outside in a small group as opposed to the normal 26. They were interested and willing to take part. One boy in particular has got immense pleasure from our small garden; this is an extension from home as I know he gardens with his Granddad and always tells us what he has being doing
Whilst they were planting they were using mathematical language such as how many bulbs have you got? He’s got more than me. There was plenty of opportunity for counting skills to be practised.
Unplanned Learning Opportunities
I found that the children learned to work as a team to fill up the tubs and were glad to be helping each other.
Adaptions
This activity would suit any age or stage and children with restricted mobility or disability. Everything was low level and it had a no fail outcome thus promoting their self esteem.
Parents Involvement
As I was setting up the resources in the outdoor play area, one of the Dads dropping off his daughter saw me lugging the bags of compost out of the boot of my car and offered to help. He then went on to ask what I was doing and was interested to see what was happening. During the activity I took photographs of the children and displayed them on a notice board for parents to see. I also made a point of speaking to the parents of the children involved in the activity to tell them what had been happening that day.
Bents Green Pre-School Bulb planting1