The Munched-Up Flower Garden

  Read and discuss The Munched-Up Flower Garden.   Ask the following open-ended questions:
1. Is competition good? Why or why not?
2.  What character interested you the most?  Why?

3.  Why do you think Liz worked so hard to grow a beautiful garden?

4.  Sallie came by often to visit with Liz.  Why do you think Sallie was so interested in Liz?

5.  Do you think Liz will grow a garden next year?  Will Sallie?  If they do, whose garden will be better?

6.  Have you ever been so angry you wanted to scream?  What made you so angry?  What are ways we can handle our
anger? 

7.  What happens when you plant a seed?  What does a flower need to grow? Discuss how soil, rain, and sun help plants grow. Discuss how some plants sleep during winter and wake up in spring.  

8.  People eat different parts of plants.  Some eat bulbs (potatoes and onions); some eat seeds (peas and beans); some eat
stalks (celery and asparagus); some eat roots (carrots); some eat leaves (lettuce); some eat fruit (strawberries).  Ask children
to identify their favorite plant foods.  Create a food chart of favorites.
Discuss and interpret the data represented in the charts.

Plants protect themselves from danger, such as insects, animals, and people. What are some types of protection plants have developed?  Thorns, spines and prickles, odors, poison and off-flavors are typical answers. 

10.  How can plants become pests?  Weeds invade gardens and yards, some plants cause us to sneeze and cough, and some are poisonous to touch or eat.

Conflict Resolution/Anger Management

Ask the following open-ended question:

1.  What is anger?  Conflict?

2.  What are some things that make you angry?  How do you feel when you are angry?  Compile a list of positive and
negative feelings.  Write positive on one side and negative on the other.

3.  Have you ever been angry with a friend, a sibling, or a classmate?  Did you say things you wish you hadn’t said?   

4. Is it okay to be angry sometimes? 

When are some times when it’s okay to be angry? 

What are some ways we can handle anger besides yelling or fighting? 

Brainstorm ideas and write ideas on a poster board.  (Examples:  compromise, problem solving, count to ten before saying a
word, breathe deeply, listen to music, talk with an adult, separate yourself from the person who makes you angry).  Post
ideas on a chart and hang in classroom.  Refer to chart when conflict arises).

5.  How do you think Liz felt when Sallie bragged about her flowers?  Why do you think Sallie came by Liz’s garden so
often? Why did Sallie brag so much?  How would you have acted if you had been Liz? What are some good ways to handle
someone else’s anger?

6.  Role play situations that can cause anger.  Give children a few minutes to rehearse.  Examples:

A.  Your best friend laughs when you fall and hurt your knee.

B.  Your sister teases you about the way you eat spaghetti.

C.  In selecting teams, your best friend doesn’t choose you.

Discuss ways in which the children would likely handle the situations.  Role-play the situations again focusing on positive
ways they can handle anger.

7.  What can you do to calm down an angry person?  Group children in teams to come up with possible answers and report to the whole group.

8.  Plants need care and feedings to grow.  The same is true of friendship.  What type of care and feeding do friendships need?

9.  Friendship Flowers

Hand out parts of a flower to each child.  On the center circle write “A friend is.”  Children will write one word on each petal that illustrates a good quality that a friend should possess.  Example: Fun, likeable.  Staple or glue the flower petals to the center.  Display on a bulletin board or wall.

10.  Planting Seeds of Friendship

Write the word “Friendship” on a board or poster.  Hand each child a printed sheet with the letters f,r,i,e,n,d,s,h,i,p at the top.  Each child will write as many words as they can using the letters f,r,i,e,n,d,s,h,i,p.

My Own Garden
Materials:
Marigold seeds
Plastic cups
Potting Soil
Water

Children love to grow plants from seeds.  Different kinds of seeds can be used, but marigolds are a good choice since they
are easy to grow and bloom quickly.  Place potting soil in the bottom of a plastic cup.  Plant the seeds, water, and place in a
sunny window.  Each child and parent will work together to make one cup.  Take cups home and plant in garden or
container. 

Journal writing:
Each day children will write their thoughts, expectations, and observations of the planting and growing of the flowers.  

Write an acrostic poem about gardening or flowers. 
M
Y

G
A
R
D
E
N
(Write a word, using each of the letters, to describe a garden.)

Activities:
1. Stepping stones add interest to a garden, yard or walkway.  You can make you own stepping stone and design it any way you want to.  You can decorate it with an imprint of your hand or foot, your dog's paw, marbles, paint, or any item you choose.

Stepping Stone Materials:
Gloves
Fast-drying cement

Items to decorate:
marbles, pieces of broken glass (such as plates), leaves, paint, etc.
Aluminum pie pans
Non-stick cooking spray

Directions:
Coat the inside of the pie pans with the cooking spray.  Mix the cement with water until it looks like oatmeal.  Pour the cement mixture into each pan and rub your hand over it to level the mixture.  Clean hands and put on gloves if decorating with sharp items.  Carefully place the decorating items into the cement creating a design you like.  Leaves can be pressed gently onto the concrete to leave a design; then remove the leaf.  Allow the cement to dry for 24 hours.  Invert the pie pan and the stone will slide out.  Place the stone in a special place in your garden or yard.

2.  Seed Art.
Give each child a sheet of light-colored construction paper and a half-cup of seeds.  Bird seed will work well for this project.  Children glue the seeds on the sheet in various designs.  Display the seed art in the classroom.

3.  POP POP! 
Watch the popcorn grow. 

Materials:  Bag of popcorn, one Ziploc bag per child, bag of potting soil, water.
Directions:  Pour 1 cup of potting soil in a Ziploc bag; add four kernels of popcorn and enough water to dampen the soil.  Seal the bag and place it in a sunny window. Have fun watching the popcorn grow.

4.  BRRRR! It’s Cold Outside.
We wear coats to protect us from the weather.  Did you know that seeds wear coats to protect them, too?  Let’s look inside a seed.   Soak a lima bean in water over night.  Give each child a bean and have them peel off the seed covering. Split the seeds in halves. Look at the different parts of the bean.  Younger children: Draw the lima bean.   Older children:  Label the names of the parts of the seed on the drawing to include the seed coat, root, leaves, food storage, and embryo.

5.  How Many???
Explain that most plants come from seeds. Display a variety of seeds: acorns, marigold, watermelon, sunflower, carrots, lettuce, rice, etc.

Let the students guess the number of seeds needed to fill a cup.  The number will vary according to the type of seed.  Use at least three different types of seeds for this experiment.  After filling each cup, have children count and chart the number of seeds per cup.  Example:  Rice, watermelon, and marigold.  Discuss and interpret the chart data.   

6.  Grow your own plants.  Place a wet paper towel in the bottom of a clear plastic drinking cup.  Place a bean on the paper towel. 

Each child will have two cups.  One cup will be placed near a window and the other in a dark area of the classroom.  Lead a whole class discussion about which of the seeds they think will grow quickly. Check the cups daily and discuss the findings. 

Have children estimate how long it will take the seeds to germinate. After the seedlings sprout, plant the most vigorous in soil and chart their growth.   Have children decorate cups, then plant marigold seeds in each cup.  Let plants grow and allow children to take plants home to their mothers for Mother’s Day.

7.  To show children the power of a root system, place a stalk of celery in a clear glass partially filled with colored water.  Watch the celery change colors over the next few days.

8.  Plant a school garden.  School gardens are an alternative classroom and can be integrated into the curriculum. Children plant seeds and care for the plants.  Gardens teach children about nature, math, social studies, science, and art and open the door to learning about the living world.  This is a fun way to build child interest. 

Examples: 
First grade children learn about butterflies by growing plants that attract butterflies.  Butterflies need food (flower nectar), water, and housing. 

Fourth grade children grow and tend to plants that Native Americans and colonists grew.

Children work together to make the garden grow. They study the plants that thrive and those that don’t.  Children observe, paying attention to detail, and write their observations, questions, and predictions in a journal.

9.  Make a friendship quilt.  Each child in the class or group will illustrate a picture depicting friendship.  The pictures will be placed on the wall in a quilt pattern.  After to quilt is “hung,” each child will identify his/her quilt square and explain the picture.

10.  Writing:   Pretend to be Sallie or James and write a letter to a friend explaining your version of what happened to Liz’s garden.  Include events in the beginning, middle, and end of The Munched-Up Flower Garden. You found a strange looking seed.  After you planted it, you couldn’t believe your eyes.  The seed grew into a plant that…  Write a story using this plot.   Without plants, we wouldn’t enjoy many of our favorite foods.  We wouldn’t have chewing gum or pencils or paper.  Our houses would not be built of wood.  Write a story about life in a world without plants.

Create a new plant.  Illustrate the plant, give it a name, and describe the plant.  How is it different from other plants?  How is it similar?  How is the plant beneficial to people, animals, other plants, or the environment?  Is it harmful in any way?  If so, how?

Did you know that some plants eat animals? The plant, Venus’s-fly trap, has leaves that close when an insect lands on them. After the insect has been eaten, the leaves open again to catch another snack. YUM!  Pretend you are a Venus Flytrap. Write about your favorite insect meal.  What is the best tasting insect dinner?  Do you prefer a different insect for breakfast? 

What’s for lunch? 
How do plants help people and animals?  What do plants provide?  Possible answers:  fuel, food, oxygen, building material, fiber, medicine, paper, pencils.  Have children fold a sheet of white paper into four squares.

Draw an item we get from plant in each square on front and back of the paper.  Older child may write a caption below each illustration.