The butterfly buddy classes planted wildflower seeds in the butterfly garden, and looked for caterpillars and butterflies in November.
Second Graders and Simple Machines in the Garden November 18, 2009
Second graders learned about levers in the garden in October. First, they made levers in the classroom using rulers for levers and rocks and erasers for pivots. In the garden, students examined different tools to see which ones might be levers. They tried to tools and checked to see which ones have pivots and could be used to lift or apply pressure. Garden levers, they concluded, include shovels and spades, scissors and clippers (double levers joined in the middle), sometimes hoes and other raking tools, and hammers.
Third Graders Learn about Native Plants and Ecosystems November 18, 2009
Third graders learned about the different ecosystems of San Diego County, and which plants live in each ecosystem. San Diego’s diverse ecosystems include Coastal Sage Scrub, one of the most endangered ecosystems on earth, which is typical of the coastal hillsides and canyons of Point Loma and much of San Diego; Chaparral, the inland scrubby regions of our county. Mountain oak woodlands, characterized by oaks; Riparian, stream, lake and riverside ecosystems tangled with willow and mulefat; Desert; and Wetlands.
Students first heard two chapters from Millicent Lee’s book about the Kumeyaay, Indians of the Oaks, which describe how the Kumeyaay used plants, animals, and even the soil of our region to survive. Then, Moving from station to station, students drew pictures and wrote the names of the plants and ecosystems.
Third Graders Plant Native Plants November 18, 2009
Third grader gardeners in Ms. Kochon’s and Ms. Cribb’s Friday planted some new plants in our native plant garden, as well as trimmed back some of the existing plants in the garden.
The first time the third graders visited the garden, they examined the quality of the soil, the color and texture of the native plant leaves and stems, and compared these with the soil and textures of plants in the vegetable garden. They found the soil to be dry and fine and light colored and hard. The plants were often leathery, woody, light colored, and often had a strong smell. They thought about why these plants, growing naturally in San Diego, would have those qualities, and concluded that the lack of water in our region, as well as the amount of sunlight, had a lot to do with the qualities of the plants.
Planting in the hard native soil was not easy. Students took turns digging deep holes, removing plants from pots, and patting down the loosened soil around the roots. the planted Bear Grass, Wild Grapes, Scub oak, Jojoba, and Wild currants, which were all used by the Kumeyaay indians of San Diego County.
Other students used scissors to trim back plants such as White Sage, California Sagebrush, White Yarrow, Deer Grass, Narrowleaf Milkweed, and Yerba Mansa.
Mr. Sarda’s kindergarteners Plant Peas November 18, 2009
Mr. Sarda’s kindergarteners planted two different kinds of peas in November. First, they planted snap peas in plastic bags which were hung from the classroom window. Students are watching the seeds to see which parts of the pea grow first — the roots or the sprouts. During the next gardening time, the students read the book, Ten Seeds, then went out to the garden to plant peas. First, they planted snap peas, which are edible, in their garden plot. Then, they planted sweet peas, which will have beautiful flowers but are inedible and hairy, in an area of the garden along a fence. They looked at the seeds carefully, noting the difference in size and color of the two kinds of seeds.
Kindergarteners Plant Seeds! November 18, 2009
Kindergarteners planted their square foot gardens with a variety of seeds in November. Each child has one square foot in which to plant and grow weeds, as well as a central area in which the whole class will plant seeds together. Children planted radish seeds, lettuce, carrots, turnips, arugula and beets in their own square foot plots. In the communal area, the classes planted brocolli, collards, beets, turnips, cauliflower, and other cool season winter crops.
Butterfly Buddies Study the Monarchs’ Journey North November 18, 2009
Butterfly buddies are taking part in a project called Journey North, in which children throughout North America study the 1000 mile migration of Monarch butterflies from North American to Mexico and back.
First, each child in each class made a beautiful butterfly out of recycled paper. On the back of their butterflies, the children added messages in Spanish, as well as Explorer’s school address. The butterflies were mailed to Journey North, a nonprofit organization that works to preserve Monarch habitat throughout North America. Journey North will deliver the butterflies to the children who live near the forests in Mexico where Monarchs spend the winter. This encourages the children to preserve that habitat, so that the butterflies can make their yearly journey. Later in the year, Journey North will send the butterflies back, with messages from the children in Mexico who will encourage our children to develop and preserve Milkweed habitat here in San Diego.
In our school garden, students counted monarchs at various stages of development. One day, they found seven Monarch caterpillars, and 15 caterpillars of the Anise Swallowtail. Another day, they found 20 Monarch eggs on the underside of the Milkweed leaves.
Butterfly buddies also read Butterfly Count by Sneed Collard III, about the restoration of butterfly habitat and a real-life yearly butterfly count. They also read Uncle Monarch, about the Mexican folk tale about the Day of the Dead, when the spirit of a person can enter the body of a Monarch.
Kindergarten Square Foot Gardens November 18, 2009
Mrs. Hawke and Manguil’s and Ms. Schultz’s kindergarteners measured out square foot garden plots with the help of two middle schoolers from High Tech Middle Media Arts and several wonderful parents. Kindergarteners used rulers and pencils to measure the length of their plots, and then stretched string across the garden, which the middle schoolers secured with nails and staple guns.
Second Graders Plant Ancestral Plants November 18, 2009
Second grade gardeners in Mrs. Glover and Elliott’s class, and Ms. Endoso’s and Ms. McCall’s classes planted seeds for plants used by their ancestors in November as part of their Social Studies Ancestor Studies project.
First, each child brought in a vegetable recipe from their family — either a recipe that has been passed down in the family, or a recipe from the continent of origin of their family. Each class has its own garden plot, and each child planted seeds for one of the plants in one of the recipes.
Since November marks the beginnnig of the winter growing season in San Diego, only seeds of winter plants could be planted, such as cabbage, brocolli, cauliflower, carrots, greens such as kale, collargs and mustard, plus onions, lettuce, arugula, parsley, garlic and beets. Potatoes will be planted separately, as will peas, as they are climbers who cling to our garden covers and prevent us from opening the plots up.Plants that require the warmth of the summer sun will planted in the spring, if possible. These plants include tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, basil, beans, and rhubarb.
Herb Garden Buddies November 18, 2009
Mr. Sarda’s kindergarteners and Mrs. Feitelberg’s fourth graders are buddies. This year, they will be learning about herbs during their buddy time. They wll be planting and caring for our herb garden, and using the herbs to make lots of things from spagetti to sachets to herbal ointment. During their first buddy time, the fourth graders helped their buddies notice details in the leaves, stems and flowers of our garden herbs. They drew pictures and wrote the names of herbs in their garden journal, and used their other senses, such as smell and touch, to learn abou the herbs.
