Right when snow starts to melt and the first sprout of the earliest trees start to bloom, right there, just right there!
I wish I could say I am their tutor, but the truth is that I’m just a regular English teacher who gives them classes 1 hour every day, but I love to be spontaneous and nature is part of my teaching practices as well as a program or text. Kids are kids, they’re not quiz/test/assessment machines, at least that’s how I see education.
The new beginning, new sounds, new lights, new ways of seeing things and my students start to ask questions as we go outside in our Monday morning walk around our school. Once in the classroom, I love to do a round of questions where we ALL make questions, then we make comments of what we saw and noticed while I draw or write their ideas on a board or poster paper. Finally, I read one of these amazing books:
- Plan the tiny seed – By Christie Matheson
How do you make a garden grow? Go and follow the seed through its entire life cycle, as it grows into a garden full with bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies.
Your students will engage with the book immediately as they wiggle their fingers to water the seeds, clap to make the sun shine after rain, and shoo away a hungry snail. And for curious young nature lovers, a page of facts about seeds, flowers, and the insects and animals featured in the book is included at the end which I recommend to read right at the end.
2.-Spring is here – By Will Hillenbrand
Mole can smell that spring is in the air, but Bear is still asleep after his long winter nap!
The story develops surprise with detail and humor to the tale and a great sense of friendship. This is a perfect read-aloud book, full of simple sound-words and lots of repetition. It is ideal to share with ELL young learners to celebrate the changing of the seasons.
3.-When Spring comes – By Kevin Henkes
“Before spring comes, the trees are dark sticks, the grass is brown, and the ground is covered in snow. But if you wait, leaves unfurl and flowers blossom, the grass turns green, and the mounds of snow shrink and shrink”.
Spring brings baby birds, sprouting seeds, rain and mud, and puddles. A sensory experience for young learners and ideal to ELLs as well.
4.-Worm Weather – By Jean Taft
Join in the rainy-day fun, as kids splash through the puddles, affecting another weather enthusiast, a nearby worm. Can you guess the rest?
An imaginative and playful story, readers will love seeing the worm delight in the weather just as much as the kids.
5.-Have you hear the nesting bird – By Rita Gray
Woodpecker calls from a tree, «cuk-cuk-cuk.» Starling sings, «whistle-ee-wee.» But have you heard the nesting bird?
In this book, we hear all the different bird calls in counterpoint to the pervasive quiet of a mother bird waiting for her eggs to hatch. It is a visual and sonorous picture book to be enjoyed by young naturalists, in fact, I made a whole UNIT around this book.
6.-Flowers are calling – Rita Gray
Flowers are calling to all the animals of the forest, «Drink me!»—but it’s the pollinators who feast on their nectar. In rhyming poetic form this book shows us the marvel of natural cooperation between plants, animals, and insects as they each play their part in the forest’s cycle of life.
This is definitely my second favorite book of the author who captures nature in a magical way while kids get hook on the story and gorgeous illustrations.
7.-The HoneyBee – Kristen Hall
Buzz from flower to flower with a sweet honeybee in this timely, clever, and breathtakingly gorgeous picture book.
Follow this journey with your students to discover the marvelous life of a honeybee with these outstanding illustrations.
8.- Over the meadow – Barefoot books
A traditional rhyming tale takes children on a counting journey through a colourful meadow scenes meeting a variety of busy animal families along the way.
Children will relish the vivid descriptions of the animals and their activities. Evocative descriptions, charming characters and repetition of words and numbers create an exciting and satisfying rhyming story. Counting the baby animals encourages numeracy skills. I play the CD and we all sing it!
These books are ideal for children in preschool and/or lower primary level. If you are like me, an EFL teacher, I guarantee they work perfectly! Check them out and let me know!
