Ring of String

One of the best features of this project is that it can be done outside anywhere. There are things to be found and observed in any bit of dirt.

Objectives

Children ages 5-6 can act out stories Lang. IIIB
and they can draw recognizable pictures of objects in the environment Cog. IV A
Children ages 3-4 can tell a story Lang. IIIA
ages 2 ½-3 can use texture, quality, color, and number to describe an object Cog. I
and ages 1 ½-2 can name objects Lang. IB

 

Materials

Three foot piece of string; a stick; 1-2 magnifying glasses (optional); pieces of paper for drawing; felt pens or crayons.

Procedures

1. Outside, have children make circle on the ground (sand, grass, or dirt) with string.

2. Have them take a close look at the area inside the ring. Offer suggestions for observations, as well as encouraging questions: Is the ground hard or soft? Damp or dry? What colors do you see? What grows here? etc.  Have them pull out a weed or blades of grass—are there roots? Open a seed pod or acorn—what’s inside? Name and count the number of different things they find inside the area. Poke a hole in the ground with a stick—what insects can they find? What are they doing? Is the earth different inside the hole than on top? How different?

3. Have them use a magnifying glass for their observations. Does the magnifying glass make everything bigger or smaller?

4. Draw a circle on a piece of paper, and let the children draw the things they observed in the circle.

EXTENSION: Make up a story about the creatures the kids discover and let them act it out, e.g., ants looking for food, spider spinning web to catch fly, etc.