Joy School - Spring

Lesson Time: We learned about the many signs of spring; robins come back, tulips and daffodils poke out of the ground, snow melts, and trees get buds. We again used clothing to show what would be appropriate to wear in the spring, what the weather is like, and what kinds of fun things we can do in the spring (like finding rainbows, splashing in puddles and planting gardens).

Science Time: We talked about planting gardens in the spring and what kinds of things seeds need to have them 'wake up' and start growing. I took an empty egg carton and cut it in two. Then the kids got to spoon some soil into each little cup.

We poked some seeds into the soil,

And added water. The we put one of the egg carton planters on the window sill and one in the cupboard with the door shut. I then explained that we were going to wait and see at our next Joy School (at my house) which of the trays of seeds grew the best. For two weeks I watered them evenly, and soon the difference was obvious. Fun experiment.

Snack Time: I made flowers from cheese and a raspberry, and ladybugs from a red apple half, a handful of raisins, (with peanut butter for 'glue') and two pretzels.

Art Time: We used our hand-prints and finger paints to create a beautiful springtime rainbow.

Craft Time: I wanted to make some flowers for our craft, but cutting is still a difficult task for our young pupils. So in advance, I cut out circles, stems and leaves:

Their task at Joy School was to practise their scissor skills by sniping the circles to create petals around the circles. Then, using a contrasting colour of paper, they snipped the next layer of petals.
They put the smaller circle on the bigger one, then added a pom-pom for the center. We glued on our stems and leaves, and they were complete.

Three great spring flowers.

Singing Time: We sang a song about a sleeping seed that woke up and grew and grew and grew, and while we sang, the children started out crouched down tight, then they stretched as high as they could reach to be big strong plants by the end. Cute.

We also sang "Robin in the Rain" by Raffi, "Colors of the Rainbow" and used a rainbow puzzle while we sang each colour, and then had one more activity song:

This song is "walkin' 'round the puddle" and we used pillows as puddles. On each verse the children either walked around the puddle, jumped in the puddle, splashed in the puddle, or shook off the mud. They loved this one and we did it three times at their request!

Story Time: We read Fletcher and the Springtime Blossoms by Julia Rawlinson,

How Robin Saved Spring by Debbie Ouellet, and Horay for Spring by Kazuo Iwamura.

Wiggle Time: We played 'musical garden' aka musical chairs. I made up these flowers and spread them around the living room. When the music stopped, they (as bugs) had to hurry and land on a flower. It was another activity they wanted to repeat.