Kids learn about seeds, spores and lots more

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As part of the curriculum at Ann MacArthur Primary School in Locust Valley, second grade students participated in a “Seeds, Spores and More” lesson where they planted cosmos flowers and garden beans, and learned about the parts of a seed.

Tara Rice’s second grade class created their own garden in the classroom by putting dirt into a small plastic cup and adding seeds to create their own individual plants. Each day the students watered their garden and observe the plants growing. Soon the cosmos all had small sprouts that reached the top of the cups. The process has been fascinating for the youngsters.

“First we had to put soil in a cup, and then we had to put two holes, put the seeds in, cover them up again, water it a little, then we put it over there,” said Alyssa Diez, 8, pointing with pride to the windowsill where the cups were sitting in the sunlight. But that’s not all they did.

“We had to separate them,” said Angelina Jones, 8, referring to the two seeds that had been planted in one cup, “because if they were too close the roots would go into each other and that wouldn’t be good.”

During one lesson the students spent time observing both wet and dry seeds and comparing them. They found that the dry seed was smooth, hard and smaller than the wet seed, which they discovered were soft to the touch and larger because it had absorbed the water.

Then they worked on their math skills. The students measured the dry seed on a ruler to determine how big it was. This tied into the math lesson on measurements.

After, they split the seed open and observed the inside, labeling the seed coat, embryo and food storage.

The children aren’t just learning about how plants grow. They are learning to be like real scientists. And they use the proper scientific terms too, like “cotyledon,” to label the food source. They even know how to pronounce the word correctly.

The best part is the students can take the lesson outside the classroom.

Ava Castellano, 7, said she planted a strawberry seed with her Girl Scout troop. “It’s still growing, and I water it every day she said.”

“I’ve also planted a tomato plant before, I’ve planted corn before, and watermelon,” Castellano went on to say.

The best part, the little girl said, is that her family was able to eat the vegetables after they finished growing, and they were good.

After the plants were finished growing in the classroom the children were able to take them home and plant them in their own garden.