We got a bit muddy....Soil Experiment!

On Monday we did two soil experiment with Wanwan's reading groups.
We did it to find out whether our soil is healthy for planting.

In the first experiment we found our soil has a pretty good pH level.

We dug some soil out and mix with a little water and baking soda - this is to find out whether the soil is acidic or not. If the mixture fizzes it is acidic.
We mixed the other one with vinegar; if it fizzes then it is alkaline.
If there isn't any fizz well it's balanced!

Experiment 2 we wanted to find out what kind of soil we have.

We dug out some soil and rolled them up (like play dough) we tried to bend the soil into a doughnut shape.
It the "dough" fell apart that means there are too much sand in the soil. That's not great for the nutrient when it comes to growing plants.
It the "dough" is to sticky like a clay, that's not great for growing plants either. We want a loamy dough!
Do you know why?






Both experiment above were from the book Play in the Garden by Sarah O'Neil.

Planting Dunes at Worser Bay Beach

On Thursday this week a group of children went with Wanwan and the senior school to Worser Bay Beach to plant some dunes.

We did some prediction before we went. Here are some of our prediction

I think we are going to plant mini sand dunes.

I think we will get wet.

I think we will be planting two or three each.

I think we are going to dig  with our hands.

I think we will work together to plant.

I think the sand dunes will grow really big.

I think when sand dunes are seeds  they are really small.

I think we will be cold.

I think we will take turns to plant.

I think there will be big waves.

I think we will sink into the sand a bit.

I think we will have to move sand dunes to plant new ones.

I think we are not going to water the sand dunes.

I think the people we are working with will have uniforms.

I think that people are coming to help us plant the sand dunes.

I think the weather could change.

I think the plants could grow or not.

I think the tide could be high tide.

I think we will be planting a bit further away.

I think it will take 5 minutes to get to the beach.

By Evan, Greta and Otto

Here are some photos:

Here is a recount of what happened

So what happened was a literacy group[called monkeys]and some seniors went to plant some sand dunes.

Sand dunes are used to stop waves from damaging buildings and hurting people. That's why we were planting them. We were planting in bad weather. It looked like it was going to rain any moment! One of us kept stepping on the plants. John said: stop running up and down the sand dunes Nye. You're squashing the sand dunes! It was a bit crazy with that going on but believe me things were still going okay.

I managed to make a buddy with one of the year five or six. He dug holes for me to plant sand dunes in. I can not remember his name but he’s a great buddy.  

And that’s what happens when we went to plant sand dunes!!!

by Nye and Pyrenees

Here is the HOW TOs

PLANTING SAND DUNES. first you dig a hole. then you put in one fertilizer. after that you grab a mini sand dune ( or pingao )  and put it in the hole. close the hole with sand and make sure that the plant stands up

By Marnie and Octavia

Trip to the Botanical Gardens

Botanical Gardens Trip - Kizoa Movie - Video - Slideshow Maker

We have been thinking about growing and planting as part of our Inquiry. Today we met with Anneke from the Wellington City Council to talk about plants at the Botanical Gardens. What a fantastic day!

Garden Visit and Sketching

Some of us went to Mitchell's garden and we also spent some time sketching the beautiful view from the lookout. 

Thank you for showing us around Mitchell. What a great leader!

Planting Experiments

As part of our Inquiry about change and growing we have planted some beans. We are going to test whetether they will grow in different conditions. Last week we brainstormed where we will put the plants and what we will provide them with. Our students can find out more about planting and growing here: https://sites.google.com/a/worserbay.school.nz/matarikiwbs/plants-and-growing

We're excited to see what will happen. Watch this space!

Carnivorous Plants

Today William and Alexander showed us their carnivorous plants. The plants eat flies and other small creatures. Some fly traps attract insects with a poisonous liquid. Flies and other insects use up all of their energy trying to get out. Don't put your fingers in because that will use a lot of the plant's energy. The plants are green and green attracts insects. Venus fly traps go black when they are dead. 

By William, Alexander, Mitchell and Yoshi

After learning about the plant we did some close observational drawings. Greta said that this is a great way to learn. 

Plants need soil to grow! Or do they?

Today we discussed this statement, "Plants need soil to grow!" Our learners said whether they agree or disagree with this.

Blaze: Soil makes the plants grow.

Caspian: I disagree because drift wood plants and cacti don’t need soil to grow.

Izar: I agree because plants need nutrients and there are nutrients in the soil.

Edward: I disagree because upside down plants

Theo: I agree that plants need soil to grow because there are nutrients in the soil.

Lily Ji: If it isn’t in the soil, it won’t grow.

Wil: I agree because plants need soil to grow.

Eva: I agree because it helps the plants to grow fast and the plants need room for the roots to sprout.

Kate:Plants need soil to grow. I agree because it helps the plants because it has lots of nutrients. You also need sun.

Dylan: I disagree because cactus can grow in sand. So some plants need sand instead.

Reuben: I agree- you need soil for the roots.

Georgina: Plants need soil to grow because it is good for them.

Molly: I agree because they need space for the roots and roots and they also need sun and rain. How else would they grow.

Jasmine: I agree because they need soil for the roots to go deep into the ground. Plants need soil to grow.

We have put some information together for students to research:
Planting and Growing

Talia explains how to grow a little garden

Our Inquiry is about change. This term we are focussing on planting and growing. In this clip, Talia explains how to grow a little garden. 

Planting: I am curious!

We are planting beans. We wanted to find out what students know and what they would like to find out...

Planting

We are planting at the moment and we are finding a lot of worms in our garden. We are having fun and are going to do some more next week. Thank you Phil (Dylan's dad) for helping us in the garden. By Lily S

Gardening Inquiry

The Year Threes have been learning about planting. We will be planting gardens down at bottom grass. They have been measuring, persevering and using teamwork.

First we went into groups and decided to come up with what they wanted to plant in their little piece of garden.

Next we told the teachers what we wanted to plant in our garden.

We also made a grid and tried to fit everything in our pieces of land.

Then we had to tell our teachers what the size of our garden was.

Today we did some weeding and started to flatten the soil...

By Rim and Liam