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FINALLY, I got to the store to get the supplies for my Garden in the Glove lesson plan. The Garden in the Glove lesson plan is one of my favorite farm lesson activities. I think it was one of the first activities I ever did in a classroom; decades ago when I was in high school.
Language:
I would start the lesson with one of the two following books.
Oh Say Can You Seed, by Bonnie Worth is a sing song book in traditional Doctor Seuss fashion. This book would be great to read to Kindergarten and readable for First and Second graders.
Cat in the Hat takes children on a journey of the life cycle of a plant from seed to flower. Readers learn why plants are important, how a seed turns into a plant and how flowers are pollinated. This is a very in-depth book for this age group.
A Seed in Need, by Sam Godwin is a perfect book for preschool and younger.
A ladybug and a snail walk the readers through the plant’s life cycle. Bright watercolor pictures make this book very engaging.
Science
Garden in a Glove activity:
Supplies
- Latex free Glove
- Five different seeds (try to find larger seeds)
- Five cotton balls
- Pencil
- Water
First set out the seeds so that students can explore them. I had Jonnie line them up from largest to smallest.
Next, label the fingers of the glove with the seed names. We used pumpkin, sweet corn, peas, beans, and radish.
Next wet your cotton balls. Squeeze out extra water.
Place your seeds and one cotton ball in the correct fingers. Use a pencil to get the cotton ball all the way down. You will want the seed in the finger tip and the cotton ball covering it.
Finished! Time to watch them grow!
Once the seeds start to sprout you can plant (cotton ball and all) them in some soil. Our radish has started to sprout so we are going to plant them in a bit of soil in an egg carton. When they get bigger, we will transplant them to a larger pot.
If you are longing for Spring time like we are, this is a perfect activity to see something grow and lift your spirits.
More Resources:
Garden in a Glove Lesson Plan by Susan Anderson, MN Ag in the Classroom
If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:
Farm Learning Activities Pinterest Board
Other Farm Lesson Plans on Zweber Farms site
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So cool! How long does the whole process take….I am wanting to do something like this in my classroom, but need to plan out when to plant, etc.
The plants will take about 7-10 days to germinate in the glove. I hope that helps!
Do you have to keep watering the seeds in the glove? And if so how often? My preschoolers would love this!
No you shouldn’t have to keep watering them, unless your air is really dry. If the cotton balls dry out I would just add a new one.
Where do you keep them until they’ve sprouted- hang from window or lie flat?
You can do either. The seeds don’t need sunlight. It has been cold here, so I kept ours off the window. Most times I do tape them to the window.
I love this! I can’t wait to do a playgroup with this as our activity! I will also do this with our garden club! Thanks,
Sara @ Brainstorm In Bloom
p.s I just started following as well!
Thanks Sara!
do you close up the glue or keep it open?
I just leave it open.You may tape them to a window to watch them grow.
genius! my preschoolers will LOVE this!
What a cute idea! My son (4yr) was just telling me we need to plant seeds again to get food! He’ll love this and his younger brother can get involved too!
what seeds did you use its hard to see what kind
Pumpkin, corn, radish, pea, and bean.
Do you have any pictures of what they look like when their sprouting. Sorry I am such a visual learner and am a little confused on how they grow. Do they break through the glove. I have no green thumb here, I could kill a rock, lol. Thank you for sharing and looking forward to trying this with my preschoolers.
Awesome! Cannot wait to try this!
le plus facile , récupérer les tubes de papier WC vide , mettre de la terre a l interieur , soutenir la terre avec un couvercle de confiture mettre votre graine dans la terre . attendre que la graine pousse ,faire un trou dans votre jardin, enterrée le tube dans la terre AVEC votre plant , finie d’abîmer les racines . a savoir ” le tube en carton de papier WC ce dissous dans la terre “
Can you use herb seeds for this activity?
I tried the glove and my ripped between the fingers.
You might want to try another brand of gloves. It shouldn’t take must force to get the cotton ball in the fingers and you just drop the seed it. I hope that helps.
Does the glove have to be latex free? Will
Latex affect the seeds growing?
This is a great idea. I think I’ll do this with my Sunday School class next year. Thank you for the great ideas.