The Garden Guide

Spring is here and we have combined this wonderful season with a focus on the outdoors and gardening. This four-week guide will delight you and your young child with its engaging literature selections, fun activities for developing motor skills, recipes and hands-on application out in the sun.

As we head towards the warmer seasons it can be hard to keep going through the homestretch but adding in interest led studies can help your children renew their love for learning, and keep developing skills while enjoying the hands on fun that leads to a gentle approach to homeschooling for the whole family.

In this unit you will find a basic introduction to gardening, including beautifully illustrated living books that bring the garden to you, as well as activities and life skills that bring the fun of the garden to your home. 

It includes activities based on these books, most of which are available as Youtube read alouds if you don’t want to add them to your home library.

• How A Seed Grows by Helene Jordan

• From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons

• A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Aston

• Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert

• Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert

• The Reason for a Flower by Ruth Heller

• My Garden by Kevin Henkes

• Nature Anatomy by Julia Rothman

• Up In The Garden and Down In The Dirt by Kate Messner

• The Imaginary Garden by Andrew Larsen

• The Curious Garden by Peter Brown

• A Child’s Garden of Verses (optional)

• The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

• Jack’s Garden by Henry Cole

• Lola Plants a Garden by Anna McQuinn

• Farm Anatomy by Julia Rothman

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BONUS LESSON

Try this free bonus lesson based on The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle.

• Read The Tiny Seed

• Practice sounding out the word “seed”

• Make a Tiny Seed sunshine craft. In The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle you will notice that bright shining sun. You can take time to talk about how the growing seeds need that sunshine and create a paper plate sunshine to remind you what your plants will need. Paint a paper plate a bright, sunshiny yellow.  Next, add yellow, orange, and red strips of construction paper to the outside of your paper plate to create sun rays with a glue stick or stapler.

• Hang a bird feeder

• Plant sunflower seeds

Field Trips are another important part of learning with preschoolers, and The Garden Guide sparks some wonderful field trip ideas.

Here are some field trip suggestions for this guide:

• Visit a Local Farm. Discover what is planted in the gardens, how they care for the seeds and plants, and how they share or sell the harvest with others. 

• Visit a local Farmer’s Market. Discover what can be grown and harvested in your area. Try new foods you find as your visit the stands full of beautiful color and variety.

• Visit a Farm to Table Restaurant. Find out where they source their food locally and what ingredients come from what kinds of farms.

We are so delighted to offer you another unit to encourage you and your preschooler to grow together! Happy Gardening!

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The Garden Guide is part of our Nourishing Nature kindergarten resource. For just $59 you get 8 months of nature-based learning, a handwriting guide, parent guide, and helpful checklist of skills for first grade readiness.

You may also enjoy:

• Learning About Trees

• Edible Bird Nest Treats