Well, it's official. Schools won't be open for the remainder of this school year, but distance learning will continue. As the weather gets warmer, maybe it's time to think about doing a little digging in the dirt and growing stuff.
As luck would have it, the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture has a bunch of great activities.
Here is just a sample:
K-2 Science:
Nutrients for Life Foundation has a number of free activities, but two favorites are the "Be a Soil Detective" and "Root Review". You can check out all of the lessons here.
Grades 1-3 English Language Arts and Science: If you have a copy, read Seed Soil Sun or find a read aloud version on YouTube. Make sure to point out all of the pictures and discuss them. Then, do this free "Have You Seen My Seeds?" activity from the Seed Soil Sun Educator Guide! In this lesson, kids learn about different seeds and what plants they grow into. To add in some math practice, have your kids practice counting, adding and subtracting the seeds.
Grades 3-5 English Language Arts and Science: Play My American Farm's "That's Life!" game. In this game, players explore lifecycles of things like soybeans and cotton. Then, do this "Garden in a Glove" activity to see seeds grow into plants! You can use a Ziploc bag instead of a glove for the same results. To sharpen their reading skills, have your 3rd-5th graders read the accompanying e-comic "The Great Crop Countdown." Another option is to read it together.
Grades 5-12 English Language Arts and Science: Read this article from NASA about the greenhouse effect for background info. Have learners summarize what they learned in a few sentences. Then, do this one hour Purple Plow Puzzler to create your own mini greenhouse.
In addition, the AFB Foundation has these other helpful at home learning opportunities: