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Holly Bloom's Garden
| Authors: Sarah
Ashman and Nancy Parent Illustrator: Lori Mitchell Summary: Holly Bloom comes from a gardening family, but she seems to have a brown thumb. Her mother tells her that some flowers, like some people, are late bloomers, but no matter how hard Holly tries, she still manages to sneeze away the fertilizer and overwater the plants. Finally, Holly sees a way to grow flowers that plays to her strengths: shutting herself in her father's art studio, she makes brilliant paper flowers that fill up the room. Unit prepared by Diana B. |
Choose some objects from around
the house and have your student make up alliterations for them.
Idioms: In the story, Holly paints her
thumb green. People who are good gardeners are said to have a 'green thumb'.
This is an example of an idiom. An idiom is a phrase that only makes sense in a
particular language.
Explain some of these other idioms to your student.
Lots more examples of idioms and
what they mean are available
here.
Listmaking and Alphabetical Order: As
expected, lots of flowers are mentioned and pictured in this story. Have
your student make a list of the flowers he encounters in this book.
Some of the flowers
specifically mentioned include: dahlias, daisies, petunias, bluebells,
gardenias, daffodils, snapdragons, tulips, chrysanthemum, and pansies. One of
Holly's nickname is Sweetpea, another flower. Some of the
flowers that are not mentioned, but are pictured include: Asiatic lilies,
foxglove, gebera daisy, sunflowers, roses, primrose, grape hyacinth, and
more.
If your student needs practice alphabetizing, write each flower name on an index
card. Have him put the cards in alphabetical order. If you make a
lapbook or notebook, store these cards in a pocket, and your student will be
able to complete this exercise again later for more review.
Vocabulary
How To Make Them:
1. Cut tissue paper into rectangles of desired size (5"x7" works well), or
use tissues, opening any folds.
2. Stack 4-6 pieces of tissue paper. Use the same color or different colors.
3. Fold the tissue in accordion pleats (like a fan), working from the long
side.
4. Wrap one end of the chenille stem or pipe cleaner around the middle of
the folded tissue paper.
5. Gently separate each layer of tissue paper by pulling upwards toward the
middle of the flower.
(For more ideas in making tissue paper flowers check out Tissue Paper
Flowers by Klutz.)
Construction Paper Daffodils
(intermediate)
What You Need
How To Make Them:
1. Draw and cut out a simple flower with five round petals from yellow
construction paper. This will be the base of the daffodil.
2. Cut a yellow rectangle, about 1 1/2 inches tall by 3 1/2 inches long.
This will be the center of the daffodil.
3. Wrap the rectangle around two of your fingers (or around an adult's
thumb) and glue it to itself to form a cylinder.
4. Make lots of little cuts in the top of the cylinder, to form skinny tabs.
Make fewer cuts in the bottom for wider tabs.
5. Curl the skinny tabs outwards a little. Fold the wider tabs out
too.
6. Glue the wide tabs onto the center of the 5-petal bottom piece.
7. This daffodil looks especially great if a simple green leaf or two is
glued to the underside of the flower, sticking out a bit.
These flowers (with or without leaves) can be glued to a picture frame,
placemat or notebook to decorate them.
Details in Art: Have your child find the
pet chicken in as many pages as possible (there are only a couple that don't
have the chicken).
Mosaics:
On the 4th two page spread, where it shows Holly jumping off the steps, there
are clay pots and a bird bath that all have geometric designs on them. They
look like they are decorated with mosaics around the top edges. A mosaic
is a decoration on a surface made by setting small pieces of glass, tile, or
stone of different colors into another material so as to make pictures or
patterns.
Let your student liven up an old clay pot by trying this technique. Please
read through directions before you start this project.
Note: This activity requires COMPLETE adult supervision.
Supplies needed:
~Newspaper
~Terra Cotta Clay Pot
~Plastic Putty Knife
~Ceramic Tile Grout
~Damp Sponge
~Broken pieces of ceramic tile, pottery, china, or seashells. (Ask
your local hardware store if they have any display samples or broken tiles that
you can have for free.) If you don't want to use broken pieces, you can
try smooth glass stones (found at most Dollar stores), buttons, large jewels
(found in most craft sections of stores, etc.) instead.
Before starting-
If you need to break up the tile, pottery, etc., put a piece of tile between two
newspaper sections. Hit it with a hammer one time. Take out any
pieces that are about 1 inch by 1 inch. Repeat process until you have
enough broken pieces to use. Before your child starts the project,
you need to take out any sharp pieces that will cut hands.
1. Prepare your area with newspaper.
2. Spread a heavy layer of tile grout onto the flowerpot with the putty knife
(as if you are "frosting" the flower pot).
3. Press tile pieces into the wet grout. Encourage your student to place
pieces close together. An older student may even want to attempt to
put a special design on his pot; this will require carefully planning before
starting the project.
4. Spread a little more grout between the pieces so that broken edges are
covered.
5. After your project is dry, wipe a damp sponge over the pot to remove
the film the grout left.
Some flowers, called
perfect flowers, contain all the parts listed above. Others, called
imperfect flowers, contain only a Carpel or a Stamen.
Types of Flowers: Perennial and
annual are two common words used to describe flowers. Perennial flowers
are flowers that live longer than one growing season. Annuals on the other hand
grow, seed, and die in one season. Another type of flower is a biennial.
These flowers live for two years--the first year they grown, the second year
they flower and go to seed and then die.
Extras:
Take a field trip to a local nursery or flower garden.
Grow your own flower garden.
Additional Resources:
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/themes/flowers.shtml
Gardening- Tools: Using the
Right Tool
Many different jobs that we do (cooking, cleaning, working on a car, etc.)
require a special set of tools. Discuss some of these as applicable in
your student's life.
In this story, we see various
garden tools used.
~In
the garden, the family is shown with hoes and trowels. The sister
is wearing what looks like waterproof shoes. The mother is wearing
gloves and using snips (hand held pruners) to cut roses. Each
person is wearing hats. On the next page, sister Rosie is shown at
a potting bench, wearing gloves and potting up plants. On the
shelves of the potting bench and on the ground nearby are clay and metal pots,
potting soil, trowels, gardening forks, extra gloves
and an extra hat.
Later in the book, her brother Bud tells tells her " 'You need to find the
right tools.' So Holly looked in the shed." She uses a hoe and then a
trowel. The shed is filled with all kinds of gardening tools--ladder,
loppers, garden stakes, etc. Holly is shown as having just got out
a spade, tamper, and rake. Her brother has a shovel.
Holly's pockets are filled with a trowel, gardening fork, and a
(hand-held) cultivator. Outside the shed is a wheelbarrow.
Is your student familiar with any of these tools? Take some time to teach
your student about basic garden tools.
~Hat- to protect your
skin from the sun (you may also want to consider using sun tan lotion)
~Gloves- to protect your hands from any sharp objects you may encounter (glass
while digging, thorns on bushes, etc.); they also keep dirt out of your
fingernails
~Wheelbarrow-
a small cart that has two
handles and usually one wheel, is used for carrying small loads, and is usually
pushed
~Trowel- a small hand tool with a curved blade; this tool is designed for
digging in small spaces; it is very handy for moving plants
~Rake- a garden tool with a
long handle and prongs at the end; rakes help level soil and to gather up
leftovers (weeds, lumps, etc.)
~Hoe- a farm or garden tool with a thin flat blade at nearly a right angle to a
long handle that is used especially for chopping and loosening the earth
~Flower hoe- a smaller form of a hoe; this has a smaller blade and can be used
in a tighter space than a traditional hoe
~Shovel- a broad scoop with a handle used for lifting and throwing loose
material; a shovel with a round pointed end is good for digging up plants that
need
~Garden Spade- a smaller version of a shovel; great for cutting, digging,
edging, and lifting
Using Fertilizer:
Holly
thought that fertilizer would help her plants. Fertilizer is a substance
(such as manure or chemicals) that is used to feed the soil -- making it a
better place for plants to live by helping them to stay strong. When
plants are stronger, they will be better able to resist disease and insects, and
harmful environmental factors such as heat or drought. Putting
fertilizer in the soil is like giving the plant a vitamin! We do have to
be careful, though, not to give the plants too much. Too much fertilizer
can harm a plant.
Sneezing: Holly sneezed
when she smelled the fertilizer. Sneezing is our bodies' natural reflex to
eliminate foreign material. Our bodies have some built in filters that clean the
air before it gets to the lungs. Our noses have fine hairs and a thick layer of
fluid to catch dust and pollen particles. When these particles tickle the fine
hairs, our nosesinvoluntarily spasm and blow out the particles. We don't have to
think about or plan a sneeze, it just happens. Some things other than breathing
in foreign matters can cause sneezing. If you look at a strong light, the optic
nerve can trigger a sneeze. And sneezes can also be caused by internal
invasions, such as when you have a cold and excessive mucous is produced. Can
your child think of anything that causes sneezing? Try inhaling a bit of pepper
and see what happens!