Saturday, April 18, 2009

It's EASY being green (sorry, Kermit)

Selaginella lepidophylla : That's just a fancy way of saying 'dinosaur plant.' Wait, what's a dinosaur plant? MY definition is: great buy from the dollar store. At first, it looks like a brown, dried up piece of moss. But when you soak it in water, it comes back to life (which is why some call it 'resurrection plant'). The children loved watching it open up and turn healthy shades of green... some sat and watched it for at least ten minutes!
Turns out this plant can last for decades without water, going into a 'sleep mode.' It has been a great resource for observing the importance of water for plants. Also great for impatient gardeners.



Oh, the community garden. How unbelievably fortunate we are! It can be the perfect way to spend some time... beautiful sunshine, flowers and plants everywhere, open space.. . I've contacted the garden's organizer, to see how our class can lend a hand with planting, maintenance, etc. In the meantime, we have begun preparing to plant seeds at our school. Some we will plant in the playground garden, and others we will plant inside. Below are some photos of the children making observational art in the garden... we love using clipboards!




Here is another sneak peak at one of our Art Show projects. I must resist showing their work now, but it will be worth it to wait until the Show (5/7).




Enjoy the rest!