Jack’s Garden: Vocabulary ~Once Upon a Book

  Jack’s Garden by Henry Cole

Book Summary: A beautifully illustrated story based on the House That Jack Built, Jack’s Garden doesn’t just tell a story but teaches as well. It has labeled drawings of garden tools, insects in the soil, seeds, clouds, parts of plants, plants, butterflies, birds, and other insects.

 

Garden Vocabulary:

So how is your garden growing? Observing your garden each week is a wonderful way to practice vocabulary:

stem

leaves

bud

roots

veins

fruit

vegetable

 

 

We also printed out this printable from Homeschool Creations. I printed the full page in grey-scale and then another copy in color. I cut the color copy apart and then my girls worked on matching the correct pieces.

Observing a garden is also a great way to learn the names of different herbs, fruits, and vegetables.

 

I had my toddlers up to my teens help create custom plant markers for our garden. It was fun and easy for even the littlest ones. Check out my step-by-step tutorial on how to create these plant markers with your family.

 

You can find even more plant and garden ideas on my Garden-themed Pinterest board.

Don’t miss the other book ideas for Jack’s Garden:

• What Will Be in Your Garden?

• Seed Observation

• Printable Bible Craft

• Garden Rhymes

Alphabet Mazes ~ Little Hands-on ABC’s and 123’s

 

Emily loves doing mazes and working with the alphabet, so I thought that this would be a fun way to put the two together. 

 

(click on the picture above to download)

I started with the letter “A” and continued with the whole alphabet in order, but it zig zags around the page like a maze, until you reach “Z” at the bottom of the page. 

Emily really loved using her Do-A-Dot Markers to cover each letter.  You can also have your child cover the letters with letter stickers or just color in the box with crayons or markers.

For more Alphabet and Number Mazes you can check out the printables page on my blog!

Little Hands-on ABC’s and 123’s is a bi-monthly feature that focuses on practical and simple ideas that you can do at home to help your tot develop their letter and number skills.

Treats 4 Tots

Here are some more cool giveaways for tots/moms of tots, check them out below and let us know if you win something we told you about!!!!

• Maestro Classics Story Pack…ends 5/31/12
• Child Training Bible…ends 5/28/12
• Montessori At Home!/Montessori Print Shop…ends 6/1/12
• Step2 Water Table…ends 6/2/12
• Learning Resources Count ‘em up Pop Corn…ends 6/4/12
• Britax Stroller…ends 6/5/12
• Froggy Feeding Fun game…ends 6/8/12
• Britax Booster Seat…ends 6/18/12
• Summer Story Time Potty…ends 6/7/12

Bolded are items we personally own and love!  If you are hosting a TOT friendly giveaway you are free to leave a link in the comments section!

Jack’s Garden: Rhymes ~ Once Upon a Book

  Jack’s Garden by Henry Cole

Book Summary: A beautifully illustrated story based on the House That Jack Built, Jack’s Garden doesn’t just tell a story but teaches as well. It has labeled drawings of garden tools, insects in the soil, seeds, clouds, parts of plants, plants, butterflies, birds, and other insects.

Garden Poems and Rhymes:

 

A Seed Needs

To the tune of "Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay"

I see you are a seed,
Tell me what do you need,
I need some soil to grow,
And then the sun to glow,
Water to make me wet,
Air for my leaves to get,
Space for my roots to spread,
Now I'm a plant.

Iram Khan
http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/songspoems22.html

 

The Gardening Song

First you take a shovel, a rake, and a hoe
Plant a little garden, Plant seeds in a row
Water them and weed them
Through all the summer heat
And then you'll have some…
Flowers or vegetables to eat.
http://www.preschooleducation.com/sgarden.shtml

There are so many rhymes and poems that go along with the plant and garden theme. Pick a few to work on during the week. Sing them while observing plants, while watering your garden, or after reading a book. I’m always amazed that when paired with a song or rhyme, my young children can memorize anything.

 

For even more garden ideas, check out my Garden-themed Pinterest board.

Don’t miss the other book ideas for Jack’s Garden:

• What Will Be in Your Garden?

• Seed Observation

• Printable Bible Craft

Now I Know My ABCs ~ Letter K

All printables for this unit can be downloaded for free on my website, Animal ABCs.

Letter K ~ Koala

Kk Koala Extras…

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Kk Koala in Action…

     

See more on my blog ~ Letter K Koala Tot School

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Have more Koala/Letter K fun…

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More Letter Kk Fun…

• Letter K ~ Kangaroo Craft
• Letter k ~ koala craft
• Color by Number ~ K ~ Kite
• Kk Letter Maze
• Tot School Printables: Kk is for Key
• Letter of the Week: K is for Kite
• Letter K Fun {from No Time for Flashcards}
• Kk is for Kisses {from Spell Outloud}
• Letter Kk Craft Collection {from The Attached Mama}
• Raising Rock Stars Preschool: Letter Kk

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Did you miss…

• Letter A ~ Alligator {Letter A on my blog in action}
• Letter B ~ Bear {Letter B on my blog in action}
• Letter C ~ Caterpillar {Letter C on my blog in action}
• Letter D ~ Dolphin {Letter D on my blog in action}
• Letter E ~ Elephant {Letter E on my blog in action}
• Letter F ~ Frog {Letter F on my blog in action}
• Letter G ~ Gorilla {Letter G on my blog}
• Letter H ~ Hippo {Letter H on my blog}
• Letter I ~ Iguana {Letter I on my blog}
• Letter J ~ Jellyfish {Letter J on my blog}

Shape Builders ~ Simply Made

I like things that can be done quickly when preparing for my tots so we can get right down to the business of fun learning. In full disclosure, it took me longer to take the pictures for this blog post than it did to actually make this activity. Now, that's my kind of project prep!

 

 

Using simple pipe cleaners and straws, tots can build shapes, letters, or whatever they can imagine. This activity promotes fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, shape recognition, and problem solving.

 

Materials:

• Pipe Cleaners
• Straws
• Scissors

 

 

Directions:

1. Cut the pipe cleaners in half, and then half again.
2. Cut the straws. I cut mine just below the "joint" where they bend. You will want more than one length available for your shape building (example: rectangles need both long and short sizes)

To build shapes:
Bend a pipe cleaner in half, slide on a straw, and build!

You aren't limited to just shapes...you can build letters, too!

Providing these simple materials to my son has brought tons of enjoyment and open-ended fun. Sometimes I lead him in the activity, asking questions and using shape vocabulary, but other times I let him explore. I showed him how to make the shapes three dimensional. From then, he explored with his imagination.

Want to observe how I talk to him while I lead him in the activity, while trying not to tell him how to do it the "right" way? I posted a video on my blog to help you!

In My Heart ~ 1 Corinthians 10:31

     
Whatever You Do {1 Corinthians 10:31} is #8 from Seeds of Purpose.      

Full Page Verse Printable…

Verse Mini Book {which could also be cut into mini flash cards to have kids put the verse in order}… 

 
Copy Work Tracers {print & cursive}

Copy Work Sheets…

  
Full Verse Coloring Pages…     

Seeds Family Worship printables here!

 

Visit the main Seeds Family Worship Printables page here.

Visit Seeds Family Worship to learn more about their ministry here!

Jack’s Garden: Bible Lesson ~ Once Upon a Book

 Jack’s Garden by Henry Cole 

Book Summary: A beautifully illustrated story based on the House That Jack Built, Jack’s Garden doesn’t just tell a story but teaches as well. It has labeled drawings of garden tools, insects in the soil, seeds, clouds, parts of plants, plants, butterflies, birds, and other insects.

Bible: God Cares for Me

 

Supplies:

Flower printable
small craft sticks
tape
crayons
glue
small paper cup
Flower song printable from Homeschool Creations

Hold up the “What Do Plants Need?” poster and sing the song (or read it).

“Plants need air, soil, water, and sunlight. Do you remember how God makes a flower? (from a seed). Remember how we put seeds in the soil and they grew?  The Bible says that God takes care of plants when they are growing. God knows exactly what the plants need! We are even more important to God than plants. Flowers don’t worry about when it is going to rain, or if they are going to get enough sunlight. They just grow. God loves us more than the flowers. That means we don’t have to worry about things. God will take care of us and make sure we have what we need. We can trust Jesus to take care of us.”

Print the flowers onto white paper. Cut along the edge and fold in half. Have your children color the flowers.

After the flower is colored, fold the paper in half. Make a small slit in the center of the fold. Push a small craft stick through and tape down. Next use a glue stick to glue down all the edges.

 

 

Make a small hole in the center of the paper cup. Place the craft stick though. Now it looks like the flower was planted in a pot! Go over the Bible verse and the saying on the back of the flower.

 “Do not worry about what you will eat or drink; or what you will wear. See how the lilies grow?” Matthew 6:25-34

 

For even more garden ideas, check out my Garden-themed Pinterest board.

Don’t miss the other book ideas for Jack’s Garden:

• What Will Be in Your Garden?
• Seed Observation