The Desert

Did you know that cacti are succulents but not all succulents are cacti?  Succulents are plants adapted to desert climates that store water in their leaves, stems, and roots.  Create a cactus and succulent garden.  Visit a plant store, nursery, or website and purchase several different kinds of cactus and succulent plants.    Use directions from an online gardening site to properly set up your container garden for your desert plants. Talk to your child about caring for the plants and allow them to help you. Ask your child, how are these desert plants different from other plants?  Do they look different?  Do they have different needs?  What is their native climate?  Source:  www.preschoolexpress.com/theme_station02/aug02_desert.shtml

Photo:  www.givingplants.com

Reading Skills:
The Desert Is Theirs by Byrd Baylor 

Cactus Hotel by Brenda Guiberson 

Way Out in the Desert by Jennifer Ward and T. J. Marsh  

Fine Motor Skills:

Create a desert scene collage.  Offer your child kid-friendly scissors, glue, sand paper (for sand dunes), green construction paper (for cacti), brightly colored waded up tissue paper squares (for desert flowers), and crayons.  Source:  http://www.ehow.com/list_6510993_preschool-art-activities-desert-theme.html#ixzz1mfXHx0Zl

Photo:  www.artinnaturephotography.com/photo.php?id=24

Gross Motor Skills:
Watch the following video with your child featuring a desert snake and a gecko.  http://youtu.be/Bc-665zhxQQ.  Observe how the snake moves.  Afterward, hold a snake race.  Have your child slither on the floor like a snake from one mark to another. Source:  http://www.123child.com/UBB/showthread.php?3580-Desert-Animals-preschool-lesson-plans

Photo:  www.bwbtours.com

Science Experiment:
Create an oasis in the desert.  An oasis is a fertile spot in a desert where water is found.  This project is based on the process of condensation.  It appears to create water from nothing (which is, of course, not the case).  You'll need an aquarium or terrarium, sand, clear plastic wrap, lid from a jelly jar, and some small plants.  

Photo:  http://noamberg.com/blog/2011/05/greenery-under-glass/

Instructions:
(1) Put sand in the aquarium or terrarium to the minimum depth of 5 cm.
(2) Hollow out a depression in the sand.  Place the jar lid upside down in the center of the depression.  Place the plants around the lid on the sand.
(3) Lay clear plastic wrap over the jar lid, and hold in place with sand or pebbles around the edges.
(4) Put just enough sand or a pebble in the very center of the plastic to make it sag slightly. To speed up the process, place a light bulb over the aquarium or terrarium to warm the sand and plastic, as the sun might.
(5) Water from the plants will form on the underside of the plastic by evaporation (from the plants and residual moisture in the sand) and condensation. If the plastic sags enough, the moisture will run to the center of the plastic and drip into the lid.
Source:  www.teachnet.com/lesson/science/earth/waterdesert.html

Photo:  www.ehow.com

Snack:

Serve up some cucumber cactus with sand!  Have your child assist you in making this food art. For this activity you need a cucumber, uncooked spaghetti, graham crackers, a plastic bag and a bowl. Put the graham crackers into a plastic bag and have your child crush them until the crackers look like sand. Empty the graham crackers into the bowl. Cut the cucumber in half and have your child stick the cucumber with broken pieces of spaghetti. The cucumber represents the cactus, and spaghetti serves as the cactus spines.  Place the cucumber into the bowl, burying the cut end of the cucumber into the graham cracker sand. The cucumber should be able to stand up straight.  Slice up the other half of the cucumber and serve to your child with whole graham crackers.  Source: http://www.ehow.com/info_8279242_desert-theme-toddler-activities.htm

Photo:  www.busybeekidscrafts.com