The water of life- What is so magical about water?

The rain was just perfect for us today as we were going to study the aspects and energy that water gives to plants!

We started by discussing how the plants and flowers appearance changes depending on the weather. How do they look today? How do they look on a sunny day? Winter? Summer? This is called expansion and contraction! I had the boys get on the floor and act as a plant! They got down, all curled up like a seed and then sprouted up, once full grown they either expanded on contracted their movements depending on weather I said it was sunny and warm, or if it was now a cold winter day! They giggled the whole time!

We then read a library book all about leaves. Then we sang a song from our guide called The Game of the Leaves (photosynthesis). The chorus was their part while I sort of sang the other words! 😉 The chorus was this: Photo-photo-photosynthesis, That’s the name of the game!– We’ve all got it stuck in our heads now!

Let’s head outside and observe the leaves and the changes going on out there!

Comparing leaves

What happens when a leaf has fallen off the tree? How does it look compared to one that was pulled off?

Looking at a seed

Changes in the Fall

Of course, ya gotta splash around!

We gathered some different leaves and headed back inside. Once in, we read more about the process of Photosynthesis and how it all works! Liam was interested to find out the plants make a “sugar” that is essential for the growth of the plant. We talked about the water cycle and the relationship it has with the plants as well.

Since we had some freshly picked leaves, I thought it would be great to grab the microscope and see if we could get an image of the “sugar” while talking about it! We did! Both boys said it looked gross!

Liam then drew a diagram of Photosynthesis in his MLB. Luke continued to look at different leaves and view items in the microscope. He also worked on writing the letter “F” on the white board.

Photosynthesis drawing/labeling

From here we went on to some art, leaf prints and a picture study. Then both boys worked on some math, and that’s a wrap for today!

Today’s book/resources

Leaf Printing

Willow Branch Lantern

 

With all the beautiful fall leaves falling to the ground I was in search of a fun and different fall craft to do today. I found this Leaf Lantern idea! Over the weekend I purchased the willow sticks at the local craft store as we already had all the other materials on hand.

First I asked him to measure out four equal sized sticks for the base and two cross pieces for the bottom. Then four tall and equal sticks for the pyramid shape which we tied together and then began adding cross pieces to strengthen and add design to the lantern as it will show through when lit.  He read the directions out loud, step by step with some team work as it does get tricky attaching all the pieces we got the base completed.

Next he tore pieces of tissue paper, he chose red and layered them across the sticks to cover it in it’s entirety.  The instructions called for an actual tea light candle, but we are using a battery operated one! The last touch was to gather leaves from outside and add them to the top of the lantern-done! It took roughly an hour’s worth of work, and looks really neat!