As I've mentioned previously, we're following the Well-Trained Mind suggestion for first grade science: twenty weeks on the animal kingdom, ten weeks on the human body, and ten weeks on botany. The first few units were fun and engaging, even for me.
But botany? Botany is NOT my thing. The garden in my front yard? Planted by the people who lived her previously, weeded by my husband and my mother-in-law. The two plants inside my house? Both gifts, both watered by my husband. I can't tell you the names of flowers and I don't really care that I can't. It's just not interesting to me at all. (The world takes all types, right?)
Still, something had to be done, and here's what it's looked so far:
Book about Plants
Seeds! Seeds! Seeds! by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace. This is a really cute book, and thanks to the book's suggestion, we're saving seeds from different foods we eat to make a seed poster.
From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons. We always love Gail Gibbons!
The Reason for a Flower by Ruth Heller. I picked this up on a whim at Half Price Books last weekend, when I had a coupon and couldn't find any of the things on my list. It's a beautifully creative book that captures the senses even while teaching big words like "angiosperm" and "carnivorous."
The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds. Of course.
Simple Experiments
Celery in colored water, to watch it travel up the stalk. (I forgot to take pictures.)
Growing beans in a jar. Out of six beans, only one didn't get moldy, and it's actually still growing! (I told you, I'm awful at plant stuff.)
I'm taking ideas from several sources, mostly because I couldn't decide at the beginning which would work best. I have Laurie Carlson's Green Thumbs, but most of her ideas are too involved for me right now. (Anybody want to buy it?)
Then, browsing a list of homeschool freebies, I found this six-week plant study from The Sunny Patch. It's based off of the Usborne Science Activities Vol. 2, which includes the Usborne Plant Activities (you can buy the plant book individually, or in a set with other science activity books). We're still not doing everything in the study (by a long shot), but it's been a helpful guide.
Hopefully, in about two weeks, I'll have enough material to write a Botany, Part 2 post! Just pray for my little bean seed to keep growing . . .
But botany? Botany is NOT my thing. The garden in my front yard? Planted by the people who lived her previously, weeded by my husband and my mother-in-law. The two plants inside my house? Both gifts, both watered by my husband. I can't tell you the names of flowers and I don't really care that I can't. It's just not interesting to me at all. (The world takes all types, right?)
Still, something had to be done, and here's what it's looked so far:
Book about Plants
Seeds! Seeds! Seeds! by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace. This is a really cute book, and thanks to the book's suggestion, we're saving seeds from different foods we eat to make a seed poster.
From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons. We always love Gail Gibbons!
The Reason for a Flower by Ruth Heller. I picked this up on a whim at Half Price Books last weekend, when I had a coupon and couldn't find any of the things on my list. It's a beautifully creative book that captures the senses even while teaching big words like "angiosperm" and "carnivorous."
The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds. Of course.
Simple Experiments
Celery in colored water, to watch it travel up the stalk. (I forgot to take pictures.)
Growing beans in a jar. Out of six beans, only one didn't get moldy, and it's actually still growing! (I told you, I'm awful at plant stuff.)
Not very pretty, but still alive!
Paper towel, colored water, and a medicine dropper: to show how water moves up the roots. We saturated the bottom of a strip of paper towel with blue water, then watched it travel up the towel. Immediate results for maximum interest. :)
Then, browsing a list of homeschool freebies, I found this six-week plant study from The Sunny Patch. It's based off of the Usborne Science Activities Vol. 2, which includes the Usborne Plant Activities (you can buy the plant book individually, or in a set with other science activity books). We're still not doing everything in the study (by a long shot), but it's been a helpful guide.
Hopefully, in about two weeks, I'll have enough material to write a Botany, Part 2 post! Just pray for my little bean seed to keep growing . . .
I never cared about botany, plants, or flowers until I was 39 years old. Then I decided to plant a flower garden! Strange.
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