Yes…yes…we start them early at my school! :) This week, we have been all into plants! We even discussed…dare I say it…reproduction! Sorry parents…hope that didn’t begin any continuing conversations/questions! Ha! Seriously though, plants have been a lot of fun!
We planted a few seeds two weeks ago and the kids have been recording plant episodes (journals) on the iPad! They wear special glasses and everything {they are kind of a big deal} so that they can look just like a real scientist! They totally play the part as they describe the life cycle that they are observing! We will put our clips into final episodes once our plants have completed the entire life cycle! This was a nice change from written journals and the kids are loving it!
Then, yesterday (after our talk about the birds and the bees) we learned about how the color/smell of plants attracts insects, birds, and other animals which is essential in the reproduction of seeds. To nail down this concept, we did a little lesson on pollination (thanks to one of my sweet parents)!
(You call this disgusting…we call it pollination!)
The kids each began the lesson with a flower di-cut, juice box, and Cheetos on their desk. Of course, the flowers’ color and smell attracted the students. Once the students “landed” on their flower, they drank a little bit of nectar (juice box).
As they were drinking, pollen just happened to find it’s way onto their fingers. For this part, the students were instructed to eat their Cheetos without wiping their hands. The cheese dust = pollen!
After they finished their juice box, they flew around the room to other flowers. When they landed on other flowers, (a.k.a. wiped their hands on another flower) they saw the power of pollination!
I’d say the concept stuck! ;)
Today we began plant adaptations. We watched a few videos and did a little notebooking! Here is the chart that we completed. If you would like a copy, click on the pictures below!
I am hoping to be back tomorrow to share all of the writing that we have been working on over the past two weeks! Have a great Wednesday!
