Our first Unit of this year is all about the plants that live and grow around us!

Central Idea: Plants Grow Like Us, We Share our Earth with Plants

Life themes: Appreciation (鑑賞 ) and Discovery (発見)

Skills: Fine Motor Skills, Impulse Control, Organizing: Recording and Sorting

Spirit: Ownership, Love

Summary – テーマ概要

We will start this unit by asking our learners’ to be more mindful of the plants around us and to recognize them as living beings by encouraging only looking and gentle touching as forms of exploration.

In the following weeks we will balance in-classroom exercises and outdoor exploration. Our goal is for our learners’ to not only learn the words for the various parts of a plant, and the names of a variety of flowers, but to also gain a new appreciation for the beauty and life of the world around us, encouraging them to create their own flowers via collage and sketch, and even make art from flowers and plants that we find on our outings! (Form 特性　構)

We will also learn what a plant needs to grow and thrive, both by taking care of our class plant, but also by visiting a local farm. We will watch not only our class plant grow and (hopefully!) bear fruit, but we will also watch how plants change as they dry and wilt, via flower pressing and air drying; showing our learners new ways to appreciate flowers beauty. (Change 変化　変容)

Our last goal is to encourage our learners to understand the connection between being gentle and loving with plants and being gentle and loving with others. If plants need water and care to grow big and strong, what do they need? What do their friends need?  (Connection　関連　影響)