The learning outdoors in the patch continues with the 4th and 5th-grade students. It truly is amazing how much the students accomplished in one week in CRA’s little patch, and it was no exception when it came to the upper-level elementary students. 4th-grade students planted lettuce which they will use to observe how plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival. They will be able to watch first-hand growth behavior. Wow, how neat is that?
5th graders were very busy bees in the garden sowing and planting native poppy seeds, nasturtium seeds, lettuce seeds, sunflower seeds, three small tomato plants, three purple leaf basil, two narrow leaf milkweed, two cupea ignea (plant with slender red flowers), and a partridge in a pear tree – OK no partridge or pear tree! As can be expected with the large assortment of plants they have grown, they will also be working on an assortment of learning objectives. They will be learning about ecosystems and be expanding math concepts (area, volume, graphing). They are also hoping the milkweed will attract butterflies in the Spring so they can observe them for further study.