Taking our seeds outside

A small group of children ventured outside with Mrs. Chin to prepare the soil.


We planted the seeds.


Children even labeled popsicle sticks so we know what the plants are when they begin to sprout!

The children are incredibly curious about everything having to do with nature right now. Their curiosity has led them to ask the following questions...How do roots grow from seeds? Why do seeds need sunlight, air, soil, and water? And what are the names of the birds we see outside? We are working to answer these questions each day through exploration inside and outside.

Plants Plants Plants

We have started the indoor portion of our gardening. Boys and girls in the science center planted two sets of seeds. Organic seeds of: lettuce, spinach, broccoli, and swiss chard were soaked in water for several hours. A second group of seeds (the same vegetables) were planted directly in the soil without soaking them. We made predictions about which seeds would sprout first. The children in the group all felt the seeds which had not been soaked would sprout first. As T said "The one we put in the soil because we put the seeds first." So we will be carefully observing to see if there is a difference in sprouting time!


It's not all about science though, children represented their understanding through artwork as well. Children used egg cartons, clay, and collage materials to create their own garden. Once finished, those that wanted also wrote their own book to go along with their garden.

Tomorrow we will take our gardening outside, to a small plot of land in the back of the school. Also parents don't forget about our upcoming field trip to Queens Botanical Garden!If you can make it that would be great, the more parents and grandparents the merrier. We'll be participating in their workshop about "Plants We Can Eat," let's hope for a warm and sunny day!

What have we been doing?

I apologize for the break in my updates! I am also in school and the last few weeks have been hectic with papers to hand in - but that's no excuse. We have begun our study of plants and the children are showing great curiosity. Here are some of the questions that have come up already...

- "How do grain come from wheat?" - M
- "Why when you make flour do you put it in the machine?" - M
- "How they (plants)grow up?" - A
- "Why we eat fruits and vegetables?" - D
- "Why fruits are healthy?" - J
- "Why do the people pick the vegetables and fruits and give it to the grocery
store?" - J
- "Why people buy fruits from the store?" - F

These are questions we will work to answer during our study. Take a look at the great plant realted videos Sesame Street has to offer, the links are below...

Michelle Obama gardens with children in this video.
http://www.sesamestreet.org/video_player/-/pgpv/videoplayer/0/33412479-f663-4937-9457-014f1c95de0d/mrs_obama_plants_a_garden

We are curious about wheat and bread so this one gives us a lot of ideas.
http://www.sesamestreet.org/video_player/-/pgpv/videoplayer/0/d2bb4738-1592-11dd-b10a-6119e86ae19b/making_bread_at_school