Children of Chinese Kindergarten observe how differing conditions affect the way plants grow and flourish

I want to be a tree! Walking around the garden, the K1 children were instructed to think about what type of tree they would want to be and what they could give or contribute to others. Observing the various kinds of trees during the route, they were able to say that as a big, slim or wide tree, they can provide food, shelter, wood, shade and fruits.

However, when those who wanted to be a small tree were asked what they can give, they initially answered “give nothing”. After a discussion, they realised even the smallest tree can give something! Their answers included “give wood”, “give shelter”, and “give oxygen”. One boy also commented that “they can give us joy!” They then returned to the classroom to draw out what they would look like if they were a tree, and were excited to share their drawings with their class and the teachers.

Growing Green Beans The Nursery 2 children also started on a hands-on activity that required them to be patient and do observations over a number of days. Students were spilt into 3 different groups to grow 2 cups of plants each. Each group would plant their green beans in different conditions and note down their observations and take pictures for comparison and discussion.

For the 1st group, the beans were planted in cotton balls and received both water and sunlight, giving the best results across all groups.

"They grew bigger!"

The 2nd group grew their plants with a cotton ball base but only watered it without exposing it to the sun. They grew, but not as quickly and as well as the first group's.

"We kept it in a cupboard, it was really dark."

The beans planted in cotton balls by the 3rd group received sunlight only, while the last group only gave the plants water and sunlight and placed it in an empty tray with no base. These plants all barely sprouted or grew a tiny root and stopped there.

"They looked the same!" "The seed will grow tomorrow?"

They really enjoyed the process of checking their plants daily, giving them water and snapping pictures for recording and reviewing purposes! They learnt a lot on their own about what is important for a plant to grow strong and healthy.