This is a guest blog post by Lily Erlic, a preschool and daycare teacher. Today, she shares creative classroom activities to bridge literacy and science in early childhood.

For preschool and kindergarten teachers, teaching science in the early childhood goes hand-in-hand with developing students’ reading skills. Using   From Seeds   and   Farmers Grow Food    from the   M y World: Growi ng Things   series, I will share my ideas for teaching science in the early childhood classroom.

Book One: FROM SEEDS

From Seeds    provides photos of seeds and what grows from them. For example, the first page says, “From these seeds, carrots grow”. From page to page, it shows children the marvel of the seed and what it can produce.

Encourage the children to answer this question:

• What kinds of seeds were in this book?

For a supplemental activity, provide a tray of different seeds with labels on them. Tape the seeds to the tray so they do not move around. Show the children pictures or provide the vegetables for the children to touch and feel. Ask them if they have tried all the vegetables. Ask:   What is your favorite vegetable?  

Book Two: FARMERS GROW FOOD

Farmers Grow Food    depicts what happens on a farm to grow food. The first page reads, “Farmers grow food. Farmers plow fields.” It is a thorough and vivid account of what farmers do for us. The “Suggestions for Teachers and Parents” section also gives helpful tips for classroom use.

Ask the students this guiding question:

• Where do you think our food comes from?

For a supplemental activity, create an activity sheet with vegetable drawings. Ask the children to color it with crayons. Ask them to write their own names on the paper. Display the sheets on a bulletin board and label the board, “FARMERS GROW FOOD.” 

Extended Activities:

• Draw vegetables on the board and ask the children to identify the vegetables. You can also paste photos from books onto the whiteboard or from books. Ask them if they have eaten any of them for meals.
• Provide the children with an activity sheet that states, “My favorite vegetable is _____________.” Print the word for each child and ask him or her to draw it.
• Action Rhymes: Children like to participate in creative movement. They can learn about food while having fun, too!   Finger Rhymes for Manners   by Teaching and Learning Company includes food rhymes that would supplement the two books above. Another book,   Finger Rhymes Content-Connected Rhymes for Science, Math and Social Studies , also lists food action rhymes under the fruit section.

I would recommend   From Seeds   and   Farmers Grow Food — with their colorful photos, they are great for teaching preschool and kindergarten students about science!

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Lily Erlic   is a preschool and daycare teacher in Victoria, BC. She is an author of many books like Blue Bear Makes Blueberry Pie, Finger Rhymes for Manners and more. Her recent e-book is a science fiction book called The Golden Sphere.

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To learn more about the titles mentioned in this post and browse more titles with the   Growing Things   theme, click the image below and download an information sheet about the   My World   series.