A
few weeks ago I announced our collaboration with innocent and GIY
on their #SowandGrowUK campaign.
Since
then, the boys and I have thrown ourselves into the campaign and have loved
every minute of it, so I thought it was time to update you on what's been going
on.
We
have made a great start to the mission by sowing our seeds and tracking their
growth, as well as taking part in the other food related activities.
Week 1
Our
first activity was easy.
I
separated the pots between the 2 boys and saved 4 for future lessons.
Using
the packs provided, the boys filled the pots with soil and planted the
different seeds.
The
boys recognised and planted the runner beans first. They instantly knew these
would grow quickly and tall, so were really keen to pot, water and place them
in an appropriate place.
The
boys had similar understanding of how cress grew. However, this brought up an
interesting conversation regarding the unusual environment needed to grow
cress.
The
boys had little prior understanding of how the third seed (carrots) grew as
despite us trying several times, we have had little success in growing any.
We
loved this lesson as it reinforced prior learning about the materials and
environments needed for the growth of seeds.
The
education pack was excellent with opening pages featuring the different
seeds we were growing. Each page described how they grew, how to sow, explored
the growing stages, and how to harvest.
The
boys read along. I loved how it was clear to follow but provided a literacy
element by introducing words like seedlings, germinate as well as descriptive
words like dirty, crumbly, lumps and mouldy.
The
age range and extensions are fantastic too! The first plan has movement to grow
from lower range activities to upper range activities and then extra ideas.
Week 2
The
second week allowed us to see how well our seeds had started to grow.
The
first lesson has the “My Growing Chart” activity sheet. This is a great
resource. I converted the chart and made a larger one for the boys to keep
track of growth.
I
decided to incorporate numeracy in week 2, so we measured the growth of the
seeds in units of 10. This made a great numeracy lesson by counting in
multiples, using charts and graphs as well as measuring and recording.
The
Runner beans, as predicted had shot up! It was great to measure them and the
boys were really competitive to see who's plant was tallest. (James won!)
The
cress also sprouted, but not as expected. After re-reading the information pack
we decided we probably hadn't given them enough water.
We
didn't see any growth from the carrot seed though so recorded that and then
discussed why this may have happened.
Week 3
This
was a whopper of a week!
The
runner beans doubled in length and the cress needed a massive cut.
William
took the lead in the growth of both the seeds. However, still no growth from
the carrots.
We
took part in lesson two: Growing Power.
The
lesson explores what plants need to grow. The idea was to create 4 different
environments and see what growth happened in each.
We
started off discussing what seeds needed to grow. It was a great lesson on this
basis alone.
The
boys knew seeds needed water, oxygen and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis,
somewhere safe, sunlight, space and warmth. All the things the plan suggests
should include as key features of plant growth. However, the boys had a heated
debate over what the seeds needed to feed from. The premise that they needed
soil was compromised by the cress seeds. In a previous experiment we grew cress
from a dish with cotton wool and water. If this is possible do seeds actually
need soil to grow in? This lead onto the main activity.
The
boys filled pots with stones, wood chip, compost and rich soil, then
placed carrot seeds into each pot to see if they would grow.
Again,
the lesson plans provide extensions for class size, age and ability. The lesson
was great as it gave us an opportunity to record more evidence later on!
Week 4
This
week we continued to see and record seed growth.
The
boys lost interest in their race to have the biggest plants but
still recorded the growth. Instead their focus was on the seeds from the
previous lesson and what environments promote growth.
Our
first lot of carrots still haven’t grown and we understand it could be the soil
that we used. Our environments lesson has shown success in the rich soil as
some of those carrots seeds have sprouted.
This
raised questions on how to continue the growth of our runner beans and lead us
to plant these out in the garden.
While
being busy with measuring and recording, we also took part in the next
lesson: Using our senses. The lesson required the boys using their senses to
explore different fruit and vegetables and record the results. The activity
sheet was great but I decided to modify it for the boys.
We
bought fruit from the local shop and started off looking and describing it. We
did a blindfolded smell test, then cut the fruit up to taste.
The
different textures and use of vocabulary made this a fantastic lesson.
The
boys reinforced the literacy element with their recording. They came up with
unique ways to describe what they were experiencing.
Overall summary
These
last 4 weeks have been brilliant. We have seen growth and change, investigated
how environment is key to growth and found fun and engaging ways to eat fruit.
This
led to discussions about what to do next. William, being the budding
chef, came up with some recipes he wants to make so we will fit this
into our other ongoing lessons." We will also be trying some of
fellow Sow and Grow ambassador, Emily Leary’s recipes which can be found here.
innocent
and GIY have shown their ability to produce fantastic lesson that engage
children. By working closely with teachers and educational specialists they
have developed detailed lesson plans for use throughout the primary years. Each
plan highlights all the national curriculum subjects it can cover.
Importantly,
their aim to have children learn more about where food and healthy alternatives
come from is working well and the boys and I can’t wait to see what is next
Is
your school signed up? If so then upload your photos at https://innocentsowandgrow.com/ to be in
with the chance to win monthly prizes from innocent and see your classroom
crowned as Sow & Grow champions!
Following
the repackage of innocent kids drinks, consumers can also win seed packs by
following the instructions on pack. Available nationwide now in most major
supermarkets. Good luck!
(This is a collaboration with Innocent and GIY. My opinions are my own and I am under no obligations to give a positive review! Please see my full disclosure at the bottom of my blog)
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