In the Garden

In the Garden Words Words Level 1: plant, seed, garden, trowel, watering can, flower Words Level 2: wheelbarrow, pond, rake, flowerpot, flowers, vine, tree, bush, gardening gloves, grow, water, soil, dirt, sun, leaf Getting Started ● Look at the new words together and make cards with all of the organic items (that is, everything but the gardening tools). Look at a magazine or catalog together and find these items in the pictures. How many do you see? Circle the pictures and say the words out loud together. Practice ● Memory game! Say: “I go outside, and I see a garden.” Your child repeats and adds one garden word (I go outside, and I see a garden and a seed). Next you repeat and add a third word. Continue until someone makes a mistake. Play again, but this time also add in other known words, even silly words like “sock” or “potato.” ● Draw it! Draw a scene with a pond, a tree, and a garden. Now add as many of the other words (Level 1 and Level 2) as you can. Older children can write the name of each item with its picture. Color in the drawing together. To review the words, first say each one and ask your child to find it. Next play a game of “I Spy.” Take turns! Activities ● The No-Dirt Garden! ○ Show your child that you can grow things with no garden and without soil! ○ You need: an avocado pit, a carrot top (2-3 cm with some root on top), toothpicks, a glass, a shallow dish, and cotton wool. ○ Start with the pit of an avocado. Wash the pit, then use 3 toothpicks to suspend the pit over a glass of water. The large end of the pit points down. The water should cover 2-3 cm of the pit. You will see the roots and stem in 2 to 6 weeks. ○ Carrot time (you will see results sooner)! In a small dish, put a layer of cotton. Now add just a few drops of water. Press the carrot top down onto the wet cotton wool. The carrot top needs a sunny place to grow (inside the house). Do not let the cotton balls dry out. ● Seed race! Re-use a shoebox or an egg carton to make a garden. Your child only needs soil and a quick-growing seed like lentils, radishes, mustard seeds, or beans. Before planting the seeds prepare a paper and pencil. Draw a map of your box garden and on your paper show where each seed is planted. When they start growing, write notes about each one. Observing the plants and interacting with them will help your child retain the new vocabulary. Extra Fun (Older Children) ● “To tree or not to tree!” Help your child learn where fruits and vegetables grow. For this activity you need paper and colored pencils, crayons, or markers. First, your child draws a garden area on one side of the paper. Next he or she draws a tree on the other side of the paper. Now, review fruits and vegetables (broccoli, carrot, corn, potato, tomato, banana, apple, grape, orange). Help your child decide where the food grows. Your child draws the fruits and vegetables on the correct side of the paper. Say: “Bananas grow on trees.” “Carrots grow in the dirt.” A Recipe Just for You! Guacamole Crocodile! Tools Knife (for adult only) Spoon (fork optional) Ingredients ● 1 avocado ● 1 spoonful of cilantro (to taste) ● 1 small clove of garlic ● ¼-½ of a lime ● 4 slices of cucumber (for eyes) ● 1 pitted black olive or 4 raisins (pupils of eyes) ● carrots (cut small for teeth) ● a pinch of salt Steps 1) Cut the avocado in half. With a big spoon, carefully take the avocado out of its “skin.” Put it into a bowl. Mash the avocado using the spoon and a fork. 2) Chop the cilantro, chop or grate the garlic and add both to the bowl. 3) Add a little lime juice and salt. 4) Stir and mash until the ingredients are well-mixed. You have made guacamole! 5) PARENTS/CAREGIVERS ONLY: Carefully cut little triangle shapes from a carrot. Cut 4 slices from a cucumber. Slice 1 olive. 6) Put the guacamole back into each half of the carved out avocado. 7) Add the eyes and teeth. Add olives or raisins to complete each “eye”. Eat with fresh vegetables and chips for the perfect after-school or after-gardening snack! .

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