Spring and Summer Centers
Lesson One- Spring Center (Art and Science)
Circle time:
When children come to sit down have them grab a raindrop seat mat- made of construction
paper then laminated.) Begin with an introduction of spring, discussing rain,
rainbows and plants. Show the students an enlarged water cycle chart that is
simple enough for them to follow. Introduce the water cycle and its vocabulary.
Vocabulary:
Clouds Vapors
Sun Steam
Collection liquid
Evaporation solid
Condensation
Precipitation
Move all the tables and chairs to the walls and set-up a mini inside water cycle. Have the students move throughout the cycle with their raindrop seat mats. The first station evaporation, explain to the children what happens to the water- the sun heats up the water in rivers, lakes and the ocean and turns it into vapors or steam. Have all the children place their raindrops into a little play pool to represent a lake, have a lamp shining on the pool to represent the sun. Use a teakettle so show what steam is. Have the children get their mats and move to the next station by carrying their mats above their heads because the water is in the air now. At the condensation station explain how the water vapor gets cold and changes back into a liquid but the form of a cloud. Make a cloud for the students by pouring hot water into a glass, when the bottle is hot; pour out all but one inch of the water. Stretch a cloth over the top of the glass and fasten. Place crushed ice on top of the cloth. A cloud will form as the warm air from the water meets the cold from the ice. Have the students move to the next station in a group with all the raindrops close together like a cloud. Explain that precipitation occurs when so much water is in the clouds it cannot hold it anymore. It gets heavy and falls back to the Earth as rain or snow. Have the students move back over the little pool and drop their raindrops in the pool. Explain that when the precipitation falls back to the Earth it may land back in a river, lake, or ocean. If it falls back on land it feeds the plants and trees, or goes back to the rivers, lakes and oceans. Then the cycle starts all over again.
Break the class down into two groups and send them to the to the two tables for the spring center.
Table one- Making rainbows with prisms
Have the students sit around the table and give either every child a prism or
every other depending on class size. If sunlight is not available use flashlights
to shine light through the prisms and create rainbows. Have the students move
the prism around to create different size rainbows all over the classroom.
Table two- Finger Print Flowers
Have one color paint- blue, or red, or yellow. Give each student a piece of
paper, a yellow crayon, a blue crayon and green crayon. Have them start to color
a sun, clouds and grass, while you go around and paint one of their hands with
the paint and create a flower on the paper between their grass and clouds. Have
the students wash their hands immediately after using paint. Collect the pictures
and save for the end of the week.
Lesson two- Summer Center (Drama, Art, Social Studies and Science)
Circle time:
Discuss with children summer activities and vacations. Where they go on vacations,
why they go there on vacation, and what they like about these vacations/activities.
Break them into two groups for the two activities.
Table one- Fishing rods
Have sticks with string attached that have little magnets at the end. Have the
students sit on the edge of the table and try to pick up little paper fish on
the floor. Number the fish and have the students “catch” the fish
in numerical order. First increasing then decreasing.
Table two- Drawing Insects
Provide pictures and books at the table of insects, have students talk about
the insects they see during the warm weather or summer. Give each student a
piece of paper, and provide crayons, colored pencils, markers, and paint upon
desire to create a insect that they like, bothers them, or that they see. Collect
the pictures for the end of the week.
Finish the day with a sand activity. Give the students buckets, shovels, and
other various toys to use in the sand. This can be outside or inside depending
on weather and availability.
