Plentiful Plants #7 - A Tour of Owen's Garden

Pulling a lettuce out

Planting 

Looking at the herbs

The children had a wonderful time visiting Owen's garden yesterday. Bronwyn and Owen gave us a tour around their lovely garden. They showed us the different types of lettuce, tomatoes, herbs, and many others. They even got to pick some lettuce from the garden and help Bronwyn plant some new ones. The children asked why there were flowers in the vegetable garden and Bronwyn explained that they need the flowers to attract bees and butterflies to pollinate the plants.  Owen was really eager to show us their compost bin. The children were really surprised to see the inside of the compost bin and Bronwyn opened the bottom flap to show the rich soil that formed from all the decomposition in the bin.

After the tour, the children had a snack made by Bronwyn and Owen. They made chive biscuits with the chive picked fresh from their garden. The children loved it!

Thank you Owen and Bronwyn!

Plentiful Plants #6 - How We Share the Planet

Looking for decomposers in the forest

In connection with our transdisciplinary theme How We Share the Planet, the children looked at the different parts of the food chain. The children learned producers, consumers (carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores) and decomposers. They understand the importance of each link and if one level is removed from the food chain, it can have disastrous results.

Alligators are carnivores

Herbivores!!!

Plentiful Plants #5 - Plant's Life Cycle

Mango seed

The children looked at a plant's life cycle. We talked about the plant starting off as a seed, which germinates and grows into a plant. Then the mature plant produces flowers, which are fertilized and produce seeds in a fruit or seedpod. The plant eventually dies, leaving the seeds which germinate to produce new plants. Next, we examined and tasted different fruit. The children were amazed that some of the seeds looked very different from what they had in mind. For example, some children thought that a honeydew only has one big seed and a mango does not have seeds at all.

honeydew seeds

Plentiful Plants #4 - Parts of a Plant and How They Function

Water group explored FORM and FUNCTION from the key concepts for this unit. We discussed the different parts of a plant and how each part functions. We read the book, Plant Magic by Aileen Fisher, and the children learned that plants can do magic -- they can make their own food! When the children heard that, they all said, "How?" We watched a video on Brainpop Jr. that explains the process of photosynthesis. The children learned that with light(energy), water and carbon dioxide, plants can produce sugar and give off oxygen. Below is a link to a game about growing plants and a song about photosynthesis that the children really enjoyed playing and listening to.


Plant game - http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/gamesactivities/plantsgrow.html
Photosynthesis song - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1_uez5WX1o

Plentiful Plants #3 - Responsibility

FUNCTION, a key concept for our current unit, helps the children develop the understanding that everything has a purpose, a role or a way of behaving that can be investigated. And during our play time in the forest, the children were really interested in the slugs. We decided to bring a few from the forest to put into our aquarium to help us learn how animals use plants. However, after two weeks, the children started to complain about the smell coming from the slugs.  To help the children understand, RESPONSIBILITY, another key concept for this unit, the children undertook the job of taking care of the slugs’ habitat. 

Plentiful Plants #2 - Formative Week

For the formative week of our Plentiful Plants unit, the teachers recorded the children's knowledge about plants through different activities. First, the children created a living and non-living things venn diagram with a rock and a plant. Then Wendy presented the children with a large leaf with bug holes and asked, "How did these holes get here?" We used a human graph to record the responses for, do animals need plants?

Another day, the children took a walk through the forest to see what they can find. Along the way the children collected materials to make a forest collage.

Collecting materials from the forest

What is this white thing?

Forest collage

Jack: I hear a woodpecker!
Judy: Where is it?

We found the woodpecker!

Plentiful Plants #1 - Art Project Week

Before we began our new unit, Plentiful Plants, the children made connections to it through various art projects.

Monday - Exploring contour lines with tissue paper flowers

Tuesday - Lines and shapes with printed birds in a tree

Wednesday - Colour and shapes with finger painted flowers

Thursday - Texture and shapes with garden collage