Growing a Plant

Last week the students investigated different types of soil and gained an understanding of what makes a healthy soil for plants. This week they created healthy soil by adding the composted humus to the garden beds or containers. Then they planted seeds and transplants.

Before they planted, the students discussed what plants need to grow.

Answers included: rain, sunshine, dirt, a seed.

We held out our arms and raised our faces to the sun to feel how much heat the sun makes. They understood that the warm sun helped the plants grow.

 

They added humus to the beds and tilled the soil.

Next, they planted......

Two year olds planted pumpkin seeds.  Two weeks later, the plant has grown a stem and two new leaves.

Soil Sense

We've just finished celebrating the harvest festival of Sukkot.  It is fall and we are ready to plant a new garden of winter crops.  But, before we get to the planting, we need to understand what makes a garden grow.  Healthy plants are the result of healthy soil.  Not DIRT, but living, nutrient rich soil. 

Soil is alive with  microscopic bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes. Soil will contain

 earthworms, arthropods, and other visible crawling creatures.  This week, our scientists explored three different soil samples, comparing and contrasting as they discovered.

Using  investigative tools, their five senses, the students spent time at each sample.  The bin containing the clay soil elicited the common description of "it's hard".  Dallas, Texas has primarily a clay based soil, sometimes referred to as "black gumbo" because when it gets wet it sticks to everything!  Another comment was "it's solid".  What a great science word.

Another bin contained a sample of sandy soil.  One boy noticed the temperature was different, "it is cold".  Another scientist commented "this is mushy, but that one was hard".  Another student observed "it feels like sand".

The last sample was silt, or loam.  This sample was obtained from the compost bin.  The students noted that the sample contained  a lot crawling things, including worms and ants.  In the wise words of one three year old, "it has stuff in it", referring to the sticks, leaves, and worms.  But my favorite description was "it feels like soft pillows".
This experience required  the students to explore in a multi-sensory manner. And of course, holding a wriggling, squirmy, slimy worm ranks in the Top Ten of sensory experiences.

AFTER THE SOIL INVESTIGATION WAS COMPLETED, WE DISCUSSED the life cycle of a plant.  The students said that "you put a seed in the ground".  I asked them which soil sample would be the easiest for a root to grow in.  They agreed that the hard clay would not be good.  But, the silt was too loose to hold up a plant.  We experimented by combining portions from all three bins and obtained a nutrient rich soil that would hold water and support the structure of a growing plant.  I reminded them that the reason they compost each day, is so that the garden beds will have rich humus to loosen the hard clay soil.

We took some of the humus and added it to the raised bed.  Then they planted beet seeds and reminded me that the seeds needed water and sun.

To end the lesson, the scientists searched the garden for plants producing seeds.  This scientist is dissecting a bean pod.

A New Year. Some Things Never Change

As I greet the children at the garden gate, I notice the changes since I last met with them.  Over the months they have grown a little taller.  Their feet are a little bigger. They have new experiences to share.  Each one makes sure that I know they are a little older since the last time they were in the gan.

As they enter the gate, they begin to notice changes in the garden.  After the late spring planting and a  summer of sun, the gan is full of verdant life.

Abundance.  Blessings.  Sweetness.

Upon entering, I challenge them with a task, a question, "what is visiting the flowers today?"

This simple provocation sets them on a path of exploration in the garden.  

The children notice that the yellow flowers attract bees.  They use hand lenses to look at the pollen.

Finger puppets allow the children to role play as they visit flowers to drink nectar and collect pollen.

One of the stations has a honeycomb available for discovery.  The children have been dipping apples in honey to celebrate Rosh Hashanah.  This station provides an opportunity for deeper understanding of where honey comes from.  They can touch the wax comb and see the octagonal cells.

The children participate in a honey taste test.  They are able to see the different colors of honey.  They sample each type and discover that each one has a different flavor.  Each child voted for his/her favorite type of honey.  The choices included, White Clover, Eucalyptus, Thistle Flower, Orange Blossom, and Buckwheat.  The 3's cluster had a tie vote between the Eucalyptus and the Buckwheat.  The Pre K group voted the Buckwheat honey as their favorite.

  At Rosh Hashanah we celebrate change.  The changing of the year.  We embrace it, we wish for it, we are inspired by it.  But, amidst all of this attention to change, the garden reminds me that change is tempered by consistency, or cycles if you will.  The cycle of a blooming plant requires the visit of a bee.  The changes in the gan are held consistent by the cycles of the seasons. And even though we celebrate the changing of time each Rosh Hashanah, we keep consistent ritual of dipping apples in honey.  A ritual that relies on the consistency of cycles.

Shanah Tovah, until next year.

An Unexpected Guest

A beautiful blue sky, winter day found Kim working in the garden.  I came outside to see what I could do to help and noticed something move just beyond where Kim stood.  A young hawk hopped to the ground and walked into the shrubs.  All of a sudden, several sparrows flew out of the bushes!  The hawk moved slowly out of the shrubs.  Look closely, the hawk has excellent camouflage. 

 

 

 

He then flew up to perch on the compost bin.  This gave him a good perspective as he searched for prey.

 

 

 

  He sensed Kim and I nearby and flew to the top of the Cedar Elm tree where he stayed for several minutes before flying off.

A Winter Garden Part II

Once the building activity was completed, we still had a large

pile of vines to address.  Since the children had demonstrated creativity by building the nests, I didn’t want to discard the vines.  With the habitat unit coming up in the next few weeks, I knew we could use them as building materials.

 

I asked the class how I could get the pile of vines into a shape that would allow me to tie a string around them to store them for a later time.  After some discussion, they decided that if it were in a “ball” shape, that I would be able to tie a string around it.

 

I asked how they could get the pile into a “ball” shape?    “We could roll it”.

 

So, roll they did.

 

They started by pushing on it to compact the pile.  Then they rolled it across the grass until it formed a large ball shape.

 

I wrapped string around the ball several times and pulled it tightly together.

 

Then the children carried the bundled vines over to the tunnel structure.  Working together, they hoisted the bundle up as I tied it to the railing.  We hung the vines up in the air so they would dry until we needed them again.

This simple work activity in the garden demonstrated problem solving, creativity, cooperation, and coordination.  It also provided an opportunity for the children to complete a task that was “real” work and gain pride in a job well done.

A Winter Garden

Just because it is winter doesn’t mean that there is no work to be done in the gan. This time of year, the garden requires a lot of TLC. The children know that before spring planting begins, we must do a winter clean up.The tunnel is the first place that gets their attention. The Hyacinth Bean vine has died down, and the children worked together to pull the dead vines off the structure. It took a lot of upper body strength, as well as, cooperation to accomplish the task.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The vines were gathered into a huge pile, almost as tall as the children.  A conversation began as the children looked at the pile.  Some decided that it looked like a giant bird nest.  I suggested that they could use the vines to create a habitat for an animal. 

 

 

Several different nests were created.  Two classmates worked together to create a giant nest, big enough for them to stand in.

 

 

 

 

Several boys made a medium sized nest.

And the girls made two smaller nests.

 

This impromptu activity is a good introduction for our next project.

 

In the next few weeks, we will be exploring animal habitats to gain an understanding of the materials and construction techniques used by different animals. 

 

 

 

Life's Simple Pleasures

Remember when trees were meant for climbing and piles of leaves were an invitation to jump?  Last week I recalled my youthful activities and my students created a few memories of their own.

 They raked the fallen leaves into a pile as we engaged in winter clean up in the garden.  One inspired boy demonstrated how to make "angels".  Who needs snow?!

 After the leaves were neatly gathered into a pile, I surprised them with the chance to run and jump into the pile.

Once everyone had their turn, we created a rainshower with the leaves. 

 You can see by the smiles that it was a great morning in the garden.



A little work and a lot of fun enjoying one of life's simple pleasures.