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A Soil Recipe

11/8/2012

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Soil is all around us.  We see it in our yards, gardens, woods, streams,  etc.  It is a non-living natural resource...but where does soil come from?  Our first grade Nature Detectives explored this question together.

First, we explored tubs of soil for clues.  

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Next, we went outside and collected these items.  We called them our ingredients to our Soil Recipe.  Can we make soil using the items we discovered in the tubs of soil?

Last, we tried mixing our ingredients to make soil.  However, this did not help to change them into soil.  After some discussion, we realized that we needed rain water to fall, the sun's heat to dry, worms to crawl, microbes to break down, and lots of time to eventually "decompose" these items into soil.  Decomposition is the earth's way of recycling old items from nature into new, useful soil.
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Our Soil Recipe
Ingredients:  sticks, rocks, seeds, leaves, insects, worms, roots, old plants...

Mix ingredients outside.  Add some sunshine, rain, worms, and microbes.  Be patient and wait a long time for ingredients to "decompose" into soil.
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We plan to visit our Soil Recipe throughout the school year to watch it decompose slowly.  We hope to use the soil in a garden next spring.

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Living and Non-Living Things

10/19/2012

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How do you describe a living thing?  Do all living things move?  Talk?  Breathe?  


Our first grade Nature Detectives were given the challenge to sort some items such as soil, rocks, water, and photographs of various plants and animals as living or non-living things.  


After a very thoughtful discussion, we learned that plants, animals, and people are all living things that:


1.  Breathe air
2.  Eat food
3.  Drink water
4.  Change and grow


Challenge question:  Is a pinecone you find on the ground a living or non-living thing?  Be sure to add a comment describing your ideas.


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What is a Habitat?

10/17/2012

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A habitat is a home for plants and animals.  It provides food,  water, shelter, and space for plants and animals to change and grow.  

Today, we visited a schoolyard habitat called a meadow.  We worked as Nature Detectives to discover the plants and animals living here.

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Our Five Senses

10/4/2012

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Our five senses help us to learn about the world around us.  We visited our schoolyard's Sensory Garden to practice using our senses.  


Thank you to the Crestwood Outdoor Education Committee and the Hiram Community Trust for making this outdoor classroom possible.

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We are Nature Detectives!

9/28/2012

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Be a Nature Detective


 Throughout the school year, our class will work as Nature Detectives to discover the natural world in our schoolyard.  We will visit various habitats located on school grounds, such as gardens, meadows, and wetlands.  We will learn how the seasonal changes affect the plants, animals, and ecosystems that we experience everyday at school.  Let the nature adventure begin!

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    Miss Harr

    First grade teacher
    Crestwood Primary School
    Mantua, OH

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