Mini-farmers

This week is all about plants in 5th grade science.  Normally, we alternate science/social studies every other day, but since last week was only 3 school days, we did social studies all week.  This week I'm trying to wrap up our unit on plants. 

We started class today by planting some corn and soybeans in wet paper towels in clear cups.  Some of the seeds were planted upside down, some right way up, and some sideways.  This is to prove geotropism, or the idea that plant roots grow down and plant stems/leaves grow up, no matter which way they're facing.  I asked the 5th graders what they thought would happen, and they said the plants aren't going to know which way to grow because these seeds are different than the kind in the picture that I showed them.  Well, we'll soon see what happens.  After they grow a while, we'll put some of the cups in the dark and leave some in the light to show phototropism.  The 5th grader who is moving at the end of the month asked if he could bring his cup of plants with him so he can keep experimenting with them after he leaves.  Oh such eager young minds! :) 

Then we talked about hydrotropism, or plants growing toward moisture in the ground.  They tried to come up with a way we could test that idea.  Most of their ideas involved the big fish tank in the closet and lots of dirt.  If I can find a smaller container, we might be able to accomplish it.  We'll have to wait and see.  Also in the news of classroom plants...  one of my sisters bought our class a plant this weekend.  The 5th graders were super excited to find out it would stay in our classroom for the rest of the year.  It really makes me want to get some more plants!

Our schedule for Camp Omega arrived today.  I kind of forgot which activities we were going to do, so I was very excited to see the list again.  Here's what we'll be doing (at least, all the exciting stuff): Archaeological Dig, cookout, Archery, Canoeing, Wilderness Survival, Kickball, campfire, Animal Tracking, and a Ravine Study.  One of the 5th graders was reading the list over my shoulder and when he came to Archaeological Dig, he jumped up and down with excitement.  His excitement only grew when he reached the Ravine Study, "Hey Miss H, do we get to go in a ravine for the ravine study?" "Yep."  "Hey guys! We get to go into a ravine! Oh I'm so excited!" 

I'm really looking forward to our trip.  Mostly because I had a great time at Camp Omega when I went in 5th and 6th grade, but also because the 5th graders will stop asking questions about what we're going to do at camp.  Of course, they'll probably still be distracted, this time asking, "Hey Miss H., do you remember that one thing that happened at Camp Omega?"  Sigh.  Oh well.

Speaking of distractions... Mr. D had car trouble this morning.  His car started smoking on the way to school and the battery gauge went way down.  He thought it was trouble with the alternator, so he called a tow truck.  Now, in case you haven't heard, Mr. D's car looks almost the same as mine.  We also park next to each other in the mornings.  So around lunchtime, my 5th graders and I see a tow truck pull up outside school.  My first thought was, "Oh boy, I hope they don't take my car by mistake."  My second thought was, "That's right, I have the keys in here so they wouldn't be able to drive it away."  My mind was at ease once again.  Not so the 5th graders.  They jumped to the same conclusion that the tow truck drivers would take my car instead of Mr. D's, so they all got up from their lunches and huddled around the window until they saw that Mr. D's car was indeed the one being loaded onto the tow truck.  After school, Mr. D dropped by and gave me an update on his car; it was just a broken water pump, and the fix-it shop had it fixed up by 3:15.  Hopefully he doesn't have any more problems with it!