Job Training: Pretend Rice Planting
Preschool
June 18, 2017
June’s Job Training theme was Farmers.
We had talked about farmers who grow vegetables and rice and those who raise animals such as cows and pigs. This lesson focused on rice farmers.
Using photographs, we explained transplanting seedlings rather than seeds and the water in a rice paddy, unlike an ordinary field. The children listened with interest. One thought the seedlings looked like green onions; another said the flooded field looked like the sea.
Building on their observations, we asked why there might be so much water. “To grow bigger,” they answered, connecting rice plants’ need for water with other flowers and plants.
We then tried pretend rice planting. Pipe cleaners stood in for seedlings, which the children inserted into small holes in a cardboard paddy. The activity also practiced fine motor skills. They concentrated carefully on placing the thin stems into the holes, and even after finishing, asked to do it again.
Although pretend, copying the action helped the children understand rice planting and deepened their interest.
We will continue offering programs that let children learn through direct experience.
We had talked about farmers who grow vegetables and rice and those who raise animals such as cows and pigs. This lesson focused on rice farmers.
Using photographs, we explained transplanting seedlings rather than seeds and the water in a rice paddy, unlike an ordinary field. The children listened with interest. One thought the seedlings looked like green onions; another said the flooded field looked like the sea.
Building on their observations, we asked why there might be so much water. “To grow bigger,” they answered, connecting rice plants’ need for water with other flowers and plants.
We then tried pretend rice planting. Pipe cleaners stood in for seedlings, which the children inserted into small holes in a cardboard paddy. The activity also practiced fine motor skills. They concentrated carefully on placing the thin stems into the holes, and even after finishing, asked to do it again.
Although pretend, copying the action helped the children understand rice planting and deepened their interest.
We will continue offering programs that let children learn through direct experience.