My 4 year old brought home a sunflower seed planted in a baby food jar with potting soil. It had sprouted by the time it came home to me. I nursed that thing on the windowsill over the sink and it actually bloomed! There was no way to get it out of the jar, and watering was tricky because it had no drainage. It was about 4 inches tall. Just the same, sunflowers get very leggy in poor light. If the plants go home quickly, it would be good, because they don't like being transplanted. If you have any sprouting potatoes or onions at home, those are good fun too. Nasturtiums have nice big seeds so are easy to plant, and they grow quickly and reliably. Calendula are easy too, but the seeds are hard for small hands. Sweet peas are another good flower choice.

Take a look at the website below, Sandie, and find the link for Easter. Lots of ideas there for you. You might also want to check Spring, too. This is a really good resource... you might want to bookmark it for later units! Here is a link that might be useful: Pratt's Educational Resources

As far as Pre-K curriculum books go, I have actually seen some very good ones (It looked that way) In Teacher's supply stores. Also some Kindergarten Curriculum books. Some schools have certain requirements as to what subjects these teacher are suppose to cover. As far as curriculums for grade school, usually the teacher has her books (the teacher's edition of the child's textbook)and experience from each year she/he teacher that she draws from, at least in Public schools. She saves this material usually and adds other interesting items she finds to this material. She/he draws from all the material that she is suppose to cover, many times making her own additional worksheets or also buying these at Teacher's supply stores. And perhaps visual aids she may buy at Teacher's supply stores or order. Many times her weekly or monthly curriculum sheets are sent the to the principal, in many areas now, and the principal over looks and ok's the sheet. Good teacher incorporated some additional topics into the curriculum while covering all the material in the books that have been selected for them. I know that many times the teacher must incorporate as well items in his/her curriculum that the children will be tested on. In some states there are additional tests besides the Achievement tests in 6th and 9th grade to see just how the child is doing. And if the child has to take a test to graduate from High school in Jr. High and earlier grades the teacher helps prepare them for these tests in addition to the cirriculum of other subjects she/he has. Some teacher's curriculum can be lacking. As there are some teachers that just can't seem to follow their own cirriculum and don't cover the material that they have even wrote down on their monthy curriculum sheets, which are many times given to the parents in grammar and middle schools. These curriculum monthly sheets are given out especially in grammar school. There are just some teachers that don't make the effort or just aren't organized enough with their time (or) seem to know how to cover the boooks/curriculum that needs to be covered. And there are some that don't really care. Especially after their tenure is up. I didn't say all teachers, I just said there were some that fit in this category. While also their are some principal and other people that just don't thoroughly check the teacher out, and give tenure to some teacher that do not deserve it at all . Sometimes on a subject the state might have more than one textbook they use for one subject. Many times there are also workbooks that go with the texts that the teacher can buy. Creative teacher make up their own worksheets also and during first year teaching , they study many aids to use in their teaching . In grammar school computers can be used. In Middle school onward material the student can learn about Power Point Presentations to make up on the computer. She/he(the teacher) also can present Power point programs, and sometimes teaches helps the students present these programs for the class. The Power Point program is a program that projects pictures and motion, sounds, along with words to present a sort of filmstrip on a certain topic. This is one way of using a good visual aid as a teaching tool. That is usually how curriculums in public school are done around here. Of course there are private schools that have more of a defined curriculum that are in a bought Curriculum book, that the teacher is suppose to abide by, while adding additional material, if she likes. This is usually true for the grammar school, at least. Many times around where I live the same text books in Jr. High and High school are used in the Private schools as the books that are used in Public schools.

What automation will you want the Control 4, for? Any built in speakers? Outside Security System?