Soil & Such

I'll admit-I'm not the best at incorporating super interesting and engaging science lessons into our day. I hate to say it, especially since my mom is the best 5th grade science teacher ever! (sorry, mom) For a couple of weeks, we dug deep into soil (see what I did there?) and got a little hands-on!

First, we talked about the life cycle of a plant. We specifically looked at a pumpkin because our weekly story from our reading series was titled "The Life Cycle of a Pumpkin". I wish we could read this story in the Fall, but oh well!

1.We sequenced the life cycle of a pumpkin with this cut and paste:

2. After a week of life cycles, our next story from our reading series was titled "Soil", a nonfiction explanation about what soil is and why it is important. 

We studied soil by observing how it felt, smelled, looked, and decided if it would be good for a plant. (sorry, no pictures) Once we decided it was good, we began the planting process!

3. Before we could plant, we observed the different seeds we would be planting with our 5 senses. And we got to use awesome science tools (there you go, mom). The 4 seeds we looked at were bean, sunflower, pumpkin, and pea. 

4. After we observed and recorded and got all scientific, we FINALLY got to plant! Each table had a different seed to plant. 4 different types of seeds = 4 different table groups. Perfect!

5. Now, EAT IT!

Just kidding. I made dirt cake as a little treat to wrap up our soil unit. I almost had them convinced I dug it out of the ground. :) YUM!

Our little plants are sitting by the window soaking up what little sun is shining and are well watered. Hopefully, I will have some little sprouts to report soon!