Water and Plants!

Picking up from where we left off on our field trip to McNary Wildlife Refuge, our horticultural studies continued with discovering (or review) of how plants live and grow and how plants benefit us. The kids colored and constructed their own "plants" placing all the parts, ie. roots, stem, leaves, blossom, where they belong. We talked a little about where plants can grow and how they stay healthy.

We opened the meeting with the song, Hello Hello and a quick review of our field trip to the refuge.

Ken, a helpful dad, joined us to talk with the kids about surface tension and play in the water a bit. Using skim milk he demonstrated how surface tension holds milk in a blob on the table. The kids put some food coloring drops in bowls of milk and then watched the colors explode as Ken broke the surface tension with liquid dish soap. OOOHHH, AHHHH!

We had a talk about plants that we get food from and as a group made a fruit salad. The kids loved being able to cut up fruit and add them to the salad bowl. But being able to eat the project afterwards was the best part.

Lori led the final project, little buddies. Our form of a "chia pet" small plastic cups decorated with faces on them. The kids filled the cups with soil and then sprinkled grass seed on top. They got to take the buddies home with them to care for and watch grow.

We closed with our closing song, Make New Friends.