What plants grow near our school?

We went outside on a ‘plant’ hunt the other day.  What we wanted to find out was what different plants we might find – and whereabouts they grow?  Do different plants grow in different places?

First stop, the field; the large area of ‘grass’ where we run around playing tag….. 

or ball games with our friends.

But look closely.  Is it just grass growing there?  Or can we see other small plants tucked in between the blades of grass?

Now let’s move to an area that is rather less green. 

No grass here.  I wonder why!  Look all the way up through the layers of leaves.

Here we are surrounded by tall, tall trees.  Tall trees with nothing (much) growing beneath them.  Hmm.

Moving on again.  This time to…..

Here is a mixture of bare, freshly dug earth and different plants – that we or our friends have planted. 

Things planted for us to eat…..

 

Things planted for others to eat…..

Things that smell good…..

Things planted just to gladden the heart…..

No trees – or grass – here.  Why not, do you think?

What other kinds of places can you find plants growing?  Why do you think plants grow there?  Are there some places that suit different plants better than others?

Keep your eyes open - I wonder; are you in for any surprises?

What is a bulb?

Well, what is a bulb?

‘It’s like a seed,’ offers Daniel.

Well, yes – and no.

‘It’s not a seed but mostly it makes flowers grow.’  That was Delfine.

Paulina concurs.  ‘Flowers come out of bulbs,’ she tells us.

It’s not a seed because it has roots.  And a stem that comes out of the pointed top.  It is a bit like an underground store that contains everything the plant will need in order to sprout.  If you cut one in half, you will see.  Look closely now!

 

In the middle at the fattened bottom, near to where the wiggly roots can just be seen, you can see a yellowish part.  This is a tiny flower bud!  Round the outside are fat white layers (‘It’s like an onion!’ observes Kareem, helpfully) which provide the ‘food’ for the growing flower.  The brown papery ‘skin’ on the outside, protects the whole.

 

 

Now, what do you think will (or what would you like to) come out of the bulbs we plant?

I guess we will just have to wait and see, because bulbs planted in the autumn do not normally flower until the following spring.  What a nice surprise we have in store for us!

Maybe some of these…..

or possibly some of these…..

might appear!

And finally - do you remember what Kareem noticed (about a bulb looking like an onion)?  Well, I wonder what would happen if we planted an onion in the soil.  What do you think?

What a difference a week makes…..

Do you remember those seeds that Camille ‘sprouted’ for us?

Well, imagine my surprise when, a mere week later (having rather unfairly dismissed someone’s observations that ‘Camille’s seeds are growing!’ with a distracted, ‘Yes, we saw that when she brought them to show us.’) I happened to glance towards where they were sitting in a sunny spot at the side of the classroom.  My goodness; they really were growing!  Eat your heart out Jack (he of the impressive beanstalk)!

Interestingly though, the brightly coloured, sweet-scented roses, courtesy of Taylor and Alex…..

in spite of having had their water replenished, as suggested by Delfine, were no longer quite so bright and fresh looking.  No longer quite so alive!

But as for the lettuce lotus seeds, well, you had better just come along and take a look for yourself!

Composting

We gathered under the trees for this week’s session in the garden.  Found a bit of clean dirt on which to sit – and looked upwards.  Up towards the canopy of leaves.

What did we notice about the leaves?  That leaves which had been green during the long summer months, were beginning to change colour.

Looked down to where we were sitting.  What did we notice there?

Brown, crisp, dry, curled leaves.  Dead leaves, as Can noted.

What, we wondered, made those leaves turn brown and fall from the tree?  Well, take a green leaf and tug at it.

You can tug quite hard, but the tree doesn’t let it go.  But just watch for a moment; and you will see brown ones floating and twisting and curling down to the ground.

 

In the summer, the tree ‘sucks’ up moisture from the soil; it travels through the roots…..

up the trunk…..

and all the way along the branches to the leaves.  But as the weather gets colder, the tree needs to conserve its moisture so that it doesn’t die.  So it closes the little ‘trap-doors’ to the leaves, thus turning off the water supply and allowing them to shrivel up and fall off.

Now think back to what we learned last week about the ‘ingredients’ of soil.  Water, air, minerals and organic matter.  Organic matter, remember, is things that were once living.  Things like dead leaves…..

We want to use some of this organic matter to improve our soil.  We are going to have a go at composting.

Just like last week, we will work in ‘teams’…..

with each team responsible for raking up…..

and gathering the leaves…..

before putting them into buckets and carrying them…..

over to our ever-growing pile…..

and emptying them onto the top.

 

Next stop, rich dark well-rotted compost?

What do we already know about plants?

One of our first challenges in this new Unit of Inquiry was for us to bring something to school that has a connection to the world of plants.  It was with great excitement therefore that we assembled round the rug on Wednesday morning, for our first sharing ‘session’ of the new school year, most of us clutching packets and pots and rustling bags.

Let’s begin with Taylor.  She ‘brought roses because they are my favourite kind of flower.  I like them because they come in different colours’.  Mmmm – me too!

Sebastian wondered, ‘do they need that water to grow?’

‘They’ll die without it,’ answered Delfine. 

Paulina concurred.  ‘They will go brown.  They won’t be colourful any longer.’

Alex was also clutching roses.  ‘They’ve got prickles on them and they have a little tiny smell and they are brightly coloured.’

‘What colours are the spikes?’ asked Sam.

‘Green’, confirmed Alex.

Sebastian was holding this green ‘posy’.

‘My kind of plant is a hortensia.  My mum and my gran planted them.  We have pink and white and green.  And also you can put them in a vase.’  Or a plastic cup!

Liv was puzzled.  ‘Are there lots of flowers or are they all on one stem?’ she asked.  What do you think?

Liam told us, ‘I’ve got seeds.  They are brown and white.  You put them in soil and they can grow.  I bought them at Jardiland.’  Closer inspection revealed that they were in fact crocus bulbs.  Flowers like this…..

should appear in the Spring if we do with them as he says.

‘Is there going to be fruit on them?’ wondered Liv.  Good question!

Can told us he had got ‘seeds.  You have to be careful because they are small and can get lost.  You plant them in soil’ (like the soil that Johannes brought to show us) ‘and they grow up to flowers.’  Flowers like the ones on the packet.

Kareem observed, ‘They need water and the sun.’

Camille has been busy.  This is what she showed us.

‘They are some peas.  I put some cotton under and water in it and they grew,’ she explained.

‘Why do they grow with cotton under?’ wondered Delfine.  My goodness; aren’t we getting some well-thought out questions!

Enakshi told us, ‘I brought some seeds and you have to put them into the container with water.

Then you see something white coming out and when you wake up in the morning you can eat them for breakfast.’  Beanshoots for breakfast?  Well, why not!

‘If we don’t eat it, could it grow even bigger?’ wondered Liv.  Another great question!

Sean had me a bit confused.  ‘I brought some lettuce seeds,’ he said.

Hmm.  They look a bit BIG for lettuce seeds.  ‘Frogs live there,’ he continued.  Nope; still befuddled.  Let’s look at the packet.  Aah…..LOTUS seeds! 

‘You put them in water and leave them in the sun.  You have to change the water.’  How exciting.  I do hope we manage to grow them.  Imagine; lotuses in the classroom!

Daniel was quick to point out that lotus leaves are also called lily pads.  Well, they are not the same plant, but certainly they are similar.  Good thinking.

Afif brought a tiny packet.  ‘I brought so tiny seeds and they are going to grow like this.’  Pointing to a photo on the packet.

‘We need soil and water and light,’ he concluded.

Paulina had a bag full of treasures.  She (carefully) pulled one of them out. 

    

‘These are very spiky leaves,’ she said.

‘Holly’, confirmed Delfine.

‘They have little red balls.  They are poisonous,’ continued Paulina, undeterred.

‘Berries.’  Delfine again.

Liv unwrapped something small from a piece of cling film.  ‘It’s a seed,’ she told us.  ‘It comes from my home.  It is from a tree.  It was inside the fruit.  I cut it in half.  It’s a plum.’

Leo also had seeds.  ‘I found them in the playground.  They were inside those spiky balls on the tree.’

Arathi showed us this ‘weed’. 

‘This is a plant and it was in the garden.  It’s got leaves and soil on it,’ she said.

I wonder what would happen if we put it back into the soil.  Would it die do you think?  How could we find out?

Kareem ‘brought a plant.  There are three baby flowers on it.’

‘They are called buds’ clarified Daniel.

Dhaluni’s flowering plant was cleverly put inside a miniature watering can.  Self-watering, perhaps.

Daniel’s was in a much bigger pot. 

‘This is a hibiscus,’ he told us.  Hibiscus is the flower of Malaysia.  They like hot countries.  The flowers are red.’

Liv noticed all the different ‘branches’.  ‘Are they all on the same root?’ she asked.

Finally to Shinnosuke.  He had us puzzled.  Why, we wondered, had he brought a toy to show us.

‘They have made it out of wood.  They sharpened it to make a piece of rail.’  He brought it ‘because it is made out of wood and wood comes from trees.’  Ahh – that makes sense!

Blueberry Muffins

I let slip that last year at around this time, we made blueberry muffins – as part of our unit on plants.  That caused a bit of a stir!

Of course we were quick to make the connection between the blueberries and plants.  But, I asked, which, if any, of the other ingredients also come from plants?

Delfine was quick to tell us that wheat seeds come from a plant.  And Sebastian clarified this by telling us that the seeds are ground up to make flour.

What about sugar?  Well, that’s obviously not from a plant.  Sugar, we know, comes from the supermarket.  From a machine.  From a packet. 

And butter caused a bit of confusion too.  Butter, you see, almost certainly comes from buttercups…..

Food for thought, I feel!