Joyful Noise Nutrition Expedition: April 2015

Friday, April 24, 2015

Week 30 of Nutrition Expedition: I Can Eat a Whole Plant!

April 20-24, 2015

I Can Eat a Whole Plant!

We learned all about the different parts of a plant this week in Nutrition Expedition, and got to eat the results! I gave them a tricky challenge to try: each child was given an activity sheet that included a box for each part of a plant, and a plate with corn, a carrot, celery, lettuce mix, and a broccoli floret. We read the book, From Seed to Plant, by Gail Gibbons, which illustrates the growth process of plants.

From Seed to Plant, by Gail Gibbons

After reading the story, and studying all the different sections of a plant, the children had to choose the correct vegetable that corresponded with each box on their activity sheet. Corn represented the seed, a carrot represented the root, celery represented the stem, lettuce represented the leaf, and broccoli represented the flower of a plant. After completing the exercise, they were able to eat each item :) The infants studied pictures of plant sections, and enjoyed steamed broccoli, corn and carrots!

We are getting so excited to do a little gardening this summer! I've been taking great care of our worms at home, though a few have made several escape attempts, and boy, are they good at it! It's been a bit of a challenge to get the right balance of moisture and food to keep them happy, but I think they're finally adjusting to their "tub" environment! They've been enjoying scraps of tomatoes, carrots, strawberries, and eggshells from my refrigerator :) I will be bringing them in again this week, so the children can do some observing. I'm hoping we'll get some baby worms growing soon! Also, our root-view gardens that we planted last week have already sprouted, and the beans are growing like crazy! Check out the pictures below:

Friday, April 17, 2015

Week 29 of Nutrition Expedition- View-able Root Garden

April 13-17, 2015

Viewable Root Garden

We worked on our green thumbs and got a little dirty this week in Nutrition Expedition! I ordered Build-Your-Own Vegetable Garden kits from the Scholastic website that allow you to view all parts of the plant as it grows, including the roots! This will be a good stepping-stone project to prepare us for our outdoor gardening this summer :)

Each kit includes a clear, build-your-own garden planter, a packet of carrot seeds, a packet of green bean seeds, and an informative poster on plants. Each classroom will keep their kit in the windowsill, and the children will help take care of it and observe the plants as they grow! They will also be "tracking the progress" (our vocabulary lesson for the week) of the plants on a special growth chart that was included with the poster.

The toddlers through 4-year-olds assisted me in filling the planters with dirt, and carefully placing the seeds along the top layer of dirt. They loved having the opportunity to help! We gave each planter a spritz of water and covered it in plastic wrap. This will help retain the moisture and heat from the sun to help the seeds germinate (approximately 8-16 days). Once they begin to sprout, we'll remove the plastic wrap, and the growing will begin! We also read the book Vegetables in the Garden, by Pascale de Bourgoing. It's a really neat nonfiction book with see-through pages that illustrate all the layers and insides of familiar (and unfamiliar) vegetables.

Vegetables in the Garden, by Pascale de Bourgoing

The infants enjoyed observing the tiny seeds and checking out the toddler's garden kit.

If you would like to order your own Root-View Vegetable Garden kit for your child to do at home, please let me know, and I can send you some info on how to order through Scholastic.