This week we enjoyed an extra sunny day at Ring Mountain. The skies were blue marbled with gorgeous clouds, the wild flowers were in full bloom, and the view of the bay was clear as ever. We hiked on up to a beautiful rock formation with a fun little rock slide. We spent the morning exploring the area, identifying poison oak and of course sliding down the rock.
Last week, we talked a lot about seeds and pollination. This week we expanded upon that and talked about how seeds have protective layers, just like the sunflower seeds we used last week. We talked about what makes a fruit and what makes a vegetable. I had the children identify the traits of a fruit, and of a vegetable. Technically speaking, fruits come from the ovary of the plant, so anything with seeds in it is considered a fruit. Where as vegetables can be from all different parts of the plant.
For our first activity we opened up an orange, found the seeds and made some beautiful fruit prints. We also used a beet and a carrot. We used all different colors for our prints. After that we talked about the seeds that were present in an orange and how that made it a fruit. We talked about how we didn’t see any seeds in the beet and carrot, so it must not be a fruit. We then talked about how we eat lots of different parts of plants. Carrots, beets and radishes come from the root of a vegetable, where as lettuce and kale come from the leaves. We examined a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. We sampled them and looked for seeds, and then placed them under the microscope. Some fruits had large seeds like the pits in avocados and plums, while the seeds in squash were really tiny and squishy.
We also talked about how seeds need to travel. Last week we talked a lot about pollinators, but this week we talked more about how seeds travel through wind and water as well. We then all designed a seed parachute, plane, or floating device. We dropped our parachutes off of the rock and watched them float away. One even got stuck on the rock, thankfully some very helpful climbers grabbed it for us. We ended our day with a pastel and water color vegetable creation.
Continuing the conversation
- While at meal times, ask your child if they are asking a fruit or vegetable and why? If its a vegetable, what part of the plant are you eating?
- Why are seeds important?
- Fruits and vegetables are really colorful. Can you find all the colors in the rainbow in your house?
- Take your child to a farmers market to pick out some extra fresh fruits and vegetables while talking about what is available seasonally
Walking Into Wellness Education Camps 