We started to look at flowers last week.
The children can choose to make a Parts of the Flower booklet. There are a variety of flower work choices on the Botany shelf, which I like to provide options. We also planted some of the sunflower seeds that the children harvested from the sunflower head in the fall. Our discussion centered around Botany 26 Lesson on our lap card. This is found in Week 27 Day 2.
Here is how I present the lesson to the children…
“In the Botany area of our classroom we have learned many thing about plants. Let’s think about the parts of a plant, can you tell me some of them? We have talked about things like the different parts of a leaf or root. Now we want to find out about the flower part of a plant, and the parts of a flower.
Most kinds of plants have flowers. Any plant that has a flower is called a flowering plant. Many trees have flowers, so they are considered flowering plants as well. Flowering plants grow all over the earth. Flowers are where the seeds are made. These seeds will grow into new plants. Most plants flower during the seasons of Spring and Summer.
The first thing we see when we look at a flower are its petals. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Oil in the petals give the flower its sweet smell. The flower has male parts and female parts. One of the male parts are called the stamens (using the fake or real flower, show the children as each is discussed). This is one of the female parts called the pistil. Sitting on top of the pistil is the stigma. The stigma is the part that we see in the center of the flower. It is a sticky bulb that receives pollen grains which they germinate. We are going to talk about germination on a different day. This part of the flower is called the calyx. The calyx protects the flower before it opens and, after the flower’s blossoming, can be seen at its base. Many flowers contain a sweet liquid called nectar. This is stored at the base of the petals in the nectary.
We can make a flower booklet that names some parts of a flower.”
And while the children are engaged with the flower works, other children can work on their focus for the day. It might be Math, Practical Life, Banking, Pincer exercises… whatever catches their attention for that time period. You can see the children and their choices below.
