Over these past two weeks, fourth and fifth grade students have learned about the different particles that make up our soil- sand, silt, and clay. Working in small groups, they took samples of our garden soil, shook them up in jars with water, and let them sit to see the particle layers separate out. We have very sandy soil at Spring Valley! Looking at the soil solution (the water on top of the layers), we talked about what this sandy soil means for our plants (there aren’t very many nutrients in it). We started to learn about ways we can amend our soil, by adding compost, worm castings, and manure.
See the difference in the colors of the soil solutions from left to right? The sample on the left came from an older planting box, where the soil has been built up over a few years, while the sample of the right came from our new, very sandy planting areas.
Second and third graders were seed scientists this week, working to describe and classify six mystery objects in cups (sunflower seeds, almonds, fava beans, sesame seeds, rice, and popcorn kernels). We then took a close look at pinto beans, doing scientific drawings of the outside, predicting what’s inside, and finally dissecting soaked beans to observe and draw what’s inside (after unsuccessfully trying to open the hard, dried beans- proof that seed coats protect a seed’s insides!). Many students were able to spot the embryo inside their bean seeds with the help of a magnifying glass.
Mystery items in cups ready for exploration- many students knew right away they were all seeds!
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Outside, our garden is flourishing in this beautiful weather! Check it out…
fava beans just under two weeks after they were planted…
…and fava beans after about four weeks!
The kindergartener’s snow peas are healthy and starting to climb up their poles
Our Meyer lemon tree is settling into its new home, surrounded by Chinese cabbage
The pansies around our dwarf redwood tree have been thriving in this beautiful weather!
Our aloe plant is taking over it’s planter box!
An aerial view of our veggie beds- full of flowers, fava beans, snow peas, kale, chard, lettuce, Chinese cabbage, strawberries, and small lettuce, carrot, radish, and beet plants starting to pop up.
The water feature in the K/1 garden is finally up and running. It’s been popular during recess to watch the water flow through the drain, and it’s also been useful for filling up watering cans to water our plants.
Check back soon for more transformations! We’re having a community work day on Saturday, October 26th from 10am-2pm. We’ll be doing some garden maintenance, painting signs to hang in the garden, and making and decorating cement stepping stones to make the pathway through our sensory garden!
– Taryn
Spring Valley Green Schoolyard 