The Seedling Project
18 October 2011
Brendan arrived at his Kindy one morning holding a little black tray. Inside the black tray, there are small black seeds resting in a bed of soil. His mum told the teachers that Brendan was eating an apple and when got into the middle of it, he noticed little black seeds. Curious about the seeds, Brenda asked his mum if the seeds can be grown into an apple tree. Mum and Brendan then planted the seeds and watched the plant grow. Brendan worked hard over the past weeks, caring and watering the plant with mums help. This is where the whole seedling project begins.
Brendan’s apple seeds sparked an interest in other children about
growing things from seeds. The learning process started with children
planting mung beans, mustard seeds, mixed sprouts, snow peas and wheat
grass in glass jars. The children then cared for and watered the seeds
everyday, documenting their findings as they went along. Within weeks,
they begin to see changes, their seeds transformed into a sprout, and
then into a seedling.
Teachers then brainstorm with the children, what plants they wanted to grow in their garden and what was needed. The teachers and children read gardening books to get more information on gardening and plants. After much research, the children showed an interest in growing strawberries and flowers. The teachers found an old sink and decided that it would be good for growing strawberries in. The children then took turns shoveling compost and potting mix into the old sink and finally, planting their first lot of plants.
The teachers have daily discussions with the children on what will happen over the next few weeks. The children noticed white flowers forming on the plants and predicted first come flowers, then come fruits. The children have transplanted their beans and sunflowers into larger outdoor containers and over the past months all the children have worked hard, caring for and observing the plants.