Spring is about growing things! Today we dissected a complete Ranunculi plant. We started by cutting down the flowers, and using magnifying glasses, to learn about flowers up close.
Flowers hold the pollen for bees. The base of the flower has sepals, the green parts that enclosed the budding flower. Friend "Sunflower" asked, "What's inside of this black part?" What an excellent question! When invited to cut it off and find out, we noticed that beneath the pollen part, there was a tube like a straw that goes down to the plant eggs. So cool!
Next we trimmed and sorted stems and leaves. We noticed the stems had a hole like a straw.
The last plant part that we dissected was the root bundles. The school friends were amazed that these tiny hair-like things could be SO strong holding onto the dirt and the plant stems.
This small group project took us from a BIG plant down to its smallest pieces. Our work in the Explore Table is going to help us learn about plants from small to big:
We are starting with potting soil, pinto beans, pots, shovels and rakes. Right now the children are enjoying digging in the dirt, smelling the soil, filling and dumping the pots, and using gardening tools. Soon, the beans will start to sprout, and we will get to see how plants really grow!
