Dirty hands and fun

Dirty hands are always the sign of fun for kids. right? At least that's how it always appears to be at my house. Last week and this week we have been very busy planting and creating habitats as part of our Organisms unit. We planted 4 different types of seeds in clear plastic cups to observe plant growth right before our eyes. It was interesting to see which plants sprouted first and which took much longer.

We also prepared our Woodland terrariums last week in preparation for our critters which are scheduled to arrive this week. We observed and compared moss and pine seedlings which are part of our habitat. Some of the groups even discovered that their moss came with extra living organisms, hitchhiking spiders! We're excited to see what kind of critters will be arriving- not so sure if some of us will be so excited when they arrive and see what they are in store for. :-)

We also prepared our Freshwater habitats this week. We put together aquariums and added plant and animal life. We had a great time observing and naming our pond snails. Did you know that pond snails are gastropods? Did you know that they have a foot that isn't a foot? Ask your child about the difference between snails and slugs? Or what some of the other interesting features are.

We also observed and added guppies to our aquariums. We learned and observed the differences between male and female guppies including the gravid spot, dorsal and pectoral fins, and the lateral line. We will be observing and comparing and contrasting all of our critters in more detail over the coming weeks. Who knows, we may even get to see baby fish!