Cactus Creations: Nature’s Little Gift to Hot Weathered Desert Climates
“Mommy, the trees look sad,” 4-year old Gemma pointed out as we drove home from preschool yesterday.
“Yes honey, they are sad because they are not used to this hot weather and need more water. They are very thirsty for water these days,” I responded to her matter-of-fact observation.
“But they will die without water, Mommy.”
“That’s right, Gemma, these trees will not thrive under these conditions,” I said, “but there are plants called succulents that do very well living in the hot, dry desert with little water. We see these plants all the time, especially the prickly cactus.”
This random conversation helped spark our little exploration of cacti together this morning. With the help of Playful Bee’s preschool lesson Cactus Creations, we were able to learn about different cacti found in our local western climates and how they are similar and different physically. Want to join our adventure? It’s so easy-to-do! Just follow these simple instructions.
MATERIALS:
- Don’t Poke Me e-book
- White paper
- Sponges cut into long oval shapes. (Don’t have a sponge to spare? Raid your fridge and cut a baby potato or baby carrot length wise!)
- Green washable paint (Optional: Have your child mix yellow and blue paint for some extra science.)
- Pink or red tissue paper
- Dried spaghetti noodles
- Glue
DIRECTIONS:
- Discover something new. Read Playful Bee’s e-book, Don’t Poke Me, to learn about the different cacti that grows in the Wild West. Discuss why these desert plants have spines protecting them (HINT: to protect them from predators that are after their tasty flesh and the water they store!).
- Paint the body. Place the white paper in front of your child and ask her to stamp the body of her cactus with the sponges and paint.
- Glue on spines. Break up the spaghetti into little pieces and show her how to glue the pasta onto her cactus as spines.
- Bloom flowers. Tear some small pieces of pink tissue paper and bunch it up into little loose balls. Glue these “flowers” onto the cactus to complete her beautiful desert cactus!
Cactus Creations is part of Playful Bee’s Wild Wild West preschool unit. To explore more about cowboys and western culture as well as learning phonics and personal safety, sign up for Playful Bee at www.playfulbee.com.
Yvette Hwee
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