• May is the month that comes after April
• there are many changes in nature in the spring
• Plants that sprouted in April may be blossoming now
• Bees gather pollen from flowers to make honey
• Hummingbirds drink nectar (sugar water) from flowers
• Some birds prefer to eat the seeds flowers produce
• Flowers come in many colors, shapes and sizes
• We can enjoy potted flowers, cut flowers, or dried flowers
• Some flowers smell very nice

Your house should be quite lovely by the end of the week, with all the flowers and butterflies and cloud mobiles your youngster will make for you. You’ll visit a greenhouse, and purchase a flowering plant for your backyard or home. Your child will decorate a flowerpot, and you can plant some seeds in it.

Mud is an Inexpensive, Imaginative Toy

My personal favorite activity is on Friday afternoon, when you and your child will build monsters out of mud! Mud is a wonderful toy. It is free, plentiful, and will amuse your child for long hours. It makes neat squishy sounds between your toes. It doesn’t hurt (much) when you throw it. It dries out and becomes hard, but all you have to do is add water and it becomes mud again – like magic! Please don’t be the kind of parent who dresses her little child in designer clothes, and then scolds if their clothes get dirty. Children are messy creatures. They spill milk and ketchup. They pull their shoes and socks off and lose them in the middle of the mall when you aren’t looking. They stretch out the necks of their shirts as they learn how to dress themselves. It is much better to buy cheap, used clothing for every-day, and let your child have fun.

Kids Need to Get Dirty. That’s Why God Made Them Washable.
Play in the dirt a little bit every day. It’s cheaper than therapy, and works wonders on your stress level.

Five-Star Picture Books for May Flowers week:

• Flower Garden by Eve Bunting
• Henry and Mudge in Puddle Trouble by Cynthia Rylant
• Our Walk in the Woods by Charity Nebbe
• Mud by Mary Lyn Ray
• It’s Spring by Linda Glaser
• Spring by Gerda Muller
• Cinco De Mayo by Mary Dodson Wade
• The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
• The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss

Quality Toys and Products for May Flowers Week (optional)

• Little Farmer Garden Tote
• Child’s Wheelbarrow
• Melissa & Doug Watering Can
• Toysmith’s Big Tool Set
• Melissa & Doug Garden Set
• Bernstein Century – Appalachian Spring CD

Enjoy your May Flowers!

May Flowers Lesson Plan

Photo Credits:
top: photo by Abigail Batchelder