Hello my friends! While we need to take a break from meeting at Sprouts for a little while, we are so happy that we get to connect with you on here. There are still so many fun things to learn about the forest and all of the critters who live in it and we are so excited to continue exploring with you.
Engage
Now, I have a question for you, what does a forest need to stay healthy? I think a forest needs: water, sun, soil and animals. Did anybody else say that a forest needs water? Why does it need water and where does the water come from? Where does it go? Let’s see if a song about the water cycle will help us figure this out. Some of you might know this song already, please try and sing along so you can teach it to your friends and family at home. Ready?!
Explore
Let’s try and make a mini water cycle in our own home. It will take some time for the water cycle to show itself and we will need to find the sunniest window in your house. If you are patient and sing the water cycle song, you just might be able to see a water cycle of our own. Have a look at the list of things you will need and watch the video to see how to make the mini water cycle bag.
You will need the following supplies:
-ziplock bag
-permanent sharpie
-tape
-sunny window
Share
I have shared a photo of my water cycle bag in the brightest window at my home. Can you share a photo too? I wonder if all of our water cycle bags will look the same or different from one another. What do you think? What will happen to the water in the bag when the sun goes away?
Extend
A cycle goes around and around and around. In the water cycle, water goes up into the sky, forms clouds, falls down into the rivers and other bodies of water, it evaporates and goes back up into the sky and comes back down again. Does anything else happen in a cycle and go around and around and around again? What else moves in a cycle? I can think of A life cycle, for example the life cycle of a chick.
Look at the first picture of a chick. What’s the life cycle of a chick? Can you put the bottom pictures in order from #1 to #4. Which one comes first?
DRAW: Think of something that has a life cycle See if you can draw it and post it to share your picture with your friends. I picked the life cycle of a plant, here’s my drawing!
PRETEND: Try and act out the life cycle you drew. For example, with my life cycle of a plant, I curled up into a ball and hid under a brown blanket like I was a tiny seed. I slowly grew taller and taller and stood up tall so the blanket fell off and my arms stretched up to the sky like branches with leaves. Then I pretended that wind was blowing me around and I dropped my seeds all over the ground so that new, baby plants can grow too.
DISCUSS: Talk to your family about life cycles of different animals. See how many life cycles you can come up with and feel free to post some of your examples.
Have a wonderful time sprouting new ideas!
