This week was all about plants! The grass that the students sowed (planted) last week started to germinate (sprout). We looked at the leaves and the roots with magnifying glasses and under the micoscope. (Check out the photo of the "root hairs" of a grass plant under our microscope). The students also looked at the "hairs" on the surface of different kinds of leaves from the plants in our classroom. The class wondered what would happen if the grass was put in the dark so we put plants in a cupboard and in a sealed box. The grass still grew but was a pale yellow. After one day in the light, the grass turned green!
The children wondered what happens if the grass was cut. They noticed that drops of water formed on the cut edge (they looked like spheres under the microscope) but disappeared after about an hour. The students each tried to pull one grass plant out of the soil but noticed that the roots were very strong in "holding" the plant in the soil.
The class also observed bean seeds growing on wet paper towel in a clear plastic bag. They saw that the roots form first. These are the same white beans we used for making our beanbags and the baked beans served at our pioneer lunch!
In math we finished the unit on fractions and began the unit on "transformational geometry" by learning about symmetry.
The children began to create a "storyboard" for their beanbag movies. They also wrote the stories for the book version of their stories.
The book "My Light" by Molly Bang was read aloud twice to the class to encourage discussion of the idea that everything on earth can be connected to the energy of the sun. The class also watched two videos - one about soil and one about plants.
The students have been working hard to create the performance of the song, "People Got To Be Free" for the spring concert on May 21. The song was written and performed by the Rascals in 1968 and is about creating peace in the world and 40 years later the message is still an important one.
