Catapillars, Corn, and Coffee

Enthusiastic like always, the sixth grade class sprinted out to the garden upon being released outside. Decomposers was the topic of the day, and that meant that the class got their hands dirty digging through the soil and kicking around the compost to find rolly polly bugs, worms, flies, mushrooms, and any decomposer that they could find. Equipped with a magnifying glass and notebook, the students were ready to observe and record what they saw. We observed a brightly colored caterpillar crawl on a log, and each student had the chance to look closely at it and observe it move.



Sixth grade student Raphael picking weeds from a garden bed

The corn has begun to grow and today we measured the height of the plant at 1.5". We will measure it every week and plot its growth on a graph so the students can conceptualize the growth. With a large portion of the garden covered in sedge that took over during the weekend, the helping hands of everyone helped clear a lot of it out. We spread coffee grounds on the garden beds, and the class was able to explain to me why plants need nutrients and that some of those nutrients can come from coffee. It is always a great day when I start it out at the Peace Patch, and I look forward to seeing the kids next time!

Peace-
Brad Samuels