"From Fish to Dish" Update: Fish Eggs?!

It takes two to measure our longest plants!

Fifth graders have noticed many changes to our Aquaponics system over the past month. We have exciting news: Not only have our plants grown longer, but our oldest fish seems ready to lay eggs soon!

As you can see, some plants have gotten much longer. When we first measured in October, the longest plant measured 1 inch long. Now it has grown to 7 inches! Although a few plants have gotten longer and greener, others have shriveled up. We have noticed that the plants near the bottom of the tubes are shriveled and pale, while the plants near the top are green, but short with small leaves. The plants near the middle of the tubes, where the most light reaches, are longer and greener, with broader leaves. Here's a view with the lights turned off:

See the difference?

We now wonder...
When will our "red leaf" lettuce actually turn red?
Will our oldest fish lay eggs over winter break?
Will the eggs survive winter break without someone to remove them from the tank with the adult fish?
How can we help the shriveled plants to grow stronger without harming the healthy plants?

Our Field Trip to Umstead State Park

Today the first graders took a field trip to explore the woods of Umstead State Park. They went on a hike, played games, explore dirt and soil, and befriended a tree! Here's what they have to say about their experience:

We played games. We played Beetle, Frog, and Hawk.

We got to play in the dirt!

We went hiking.

We explored the dirt.

I learned that the leaves turn into soil.

I learned about the soil.

We dug holes in the ground.

We learned that trees give us oxygen.

We met a tree.

We learned that there is clay underground.

We got to explore the trees.

We were able to touch worms.

We saw worms.

We guessed what tree we met.

We found clay.

We actually got blindfolded then we hugged a tree.

We got to know that the more wide a tree is the older it is.

The soil was kind of like clay.

We touched the worms.

This was my first time riding a bus.

We played Bat and Moth.

We saw millipedes.

We played a game called Fire.

The worms looked like they were dead... but they weren't!

We explored part of the woods.

We used our "deer ears" to listen to nature.

There was a bird's nest.

We went on a hike.

We saw a centipede that was moving all around. It did not want to be picked up.

I dug a millipede out of the ground.

We got to look around and we got to hear lots of things in nature.

We dug in the dirt.

OUR FIELD TRIP WAS AWESOME!!!!!!

In third grade, students have been charting growth and comparing and contrasting our classroom plants!  Broccoli fans will be pleased to hear that broccoli is in the lead.  By far, our broccoli plants both inside the classroom and outside in the greenhouse is growing much more than our lettuce and pansies.  Check back for more updates soon!

Primary Onion Plant Update

The Primary classes have been using all their senses and what they have learned about being a scientist to observe the seeds we planted.  Our first observations were how small onion seeds are.  We compared the onion seeds to other types of seeds that the children brought in: apple, avocado, orange, sunflower, corn, pumpkin and pear.  The onion seeds were the smallest.

                                                               ^^^ Observing seeds ^^^

We observed the soil using all our senses (except taste).  We planted our seeds in a variety of settings.  The seeds we planted outside and inside grew about a half an inch in one week!  They are now standing 2 inches tall.  The seeds we planted in the greenhouse struggled due to the heat.

                                                                     ^^^ Inside ^^^

^^^ Outside ^^^

We are looking forward to seeing how big our plants will be next month.  We are predicting that if our plants survive, they might have an onion forming under the soil.  

From Fish to Dish update

5^th grade students are watching aquaponics in Ms. Smith’s classroom.  They planted lettuce in peat pods in October and moved the seedlings to the aquaponics towers in November.  Most of the lettuce is thriving, drawing water from the goldfish tank underneath.  The plant water is fertilized by the fish waste and is then filtered and cleaned as it runs through the wicking and pods in the tower.  A few plants have withered and the water was adjusted, but most are growing.  We have also discussed whether natural light would be helpful in increasing growth since so far, the towers have received light from indoor plant lights only. Students think it’s cool that we aren’t using a lot of water, but just recycling the same water.  Students are researching the benefits of aquaponics in writing class and will be writing persuasive arguments for or against this modern farming technique, which, if successful, holds promise for feeding people in areas with small land and water resources.

5^th grade students are watching aquaponics in Ms. Smith’s classroom.  They planted lettuce in peat pods in October and moved the seedlings to the aquaponics towers in November.  Most of the lettuce is thriving, drawing water from the goldfish tank underneath.  The plant water is fertilized by the fish waste and is then filtered and cleaned as it runs through the wicking and pods in the tower.  A few plants have withered and the water was adjusted, but most are growing.  We have also discussed whether natural light would be helpful in increasing growth since so far, the towers have received light from indoor plant lights only. Students think it’s cool that we aren’t using a lot of water, but just recycling the same water.  Students are researching the benefits of aquaponics in writing class and will be writing persuasive arguments for or against this modern farming technique, which, if successful, holds promise for feeding people in areas with small land and water resources.

Second grade growing greenery

Second grade has had some successes and some failures when it comes to growing greenery! Some have grown and lived and some have not been so lucky. Some have decided not to grow at all. But we learn from it all! We are watching our plants closely, making sure they get what they need to grow healthy and strong. We are beginning to learn about weather and will be investigating how weather affects plant growth....hopefully we will continue to have more successes! Here we are checking the growth of our plants. Looking good!

Engineering Bird's Nests!

Today during their STEM special, Ms. E's class learned about how birds build nests. We then went outside to engineer our own! We all had jobs and did our best to help our team. We are learning how to collaborate and listen to everyone's ideas in our group :)

4th Grade says: Lights, Camera, ACTION!!!

Hear what Leo has to say about the 4th grade hydroponics farm wall!!

Kindergarten's Outdoor Learning Update

Our Kindergarten students were thrilled with the opportunity to pair with 1st grade to plan their ideal gardens (as seen below).

After the planning process, we planted! Two Kindergarten classes planted in pots in their classrooms, two classes planted in the greenhouse, and one class planted in the garden-bed.

Kingswood First Grade Garden Update

Here's what first grade has to say!

We have been planting lots of seeds.

We weeded the garden a lot!

We have been watering the garden.

We are taking care of the garden.

New plants grew.

Flowers need sunlight and soil.

Tiny plants are coming up.

When you water the seeds they grow bigger.

The seeds are starting to sprout.

We have been planting seeds.

We looked and we saw some growing up.

It has been raining a lot!

The onion seeds we planted now look like little grass sprouts!

Our plants have been growing and growing a lot.

Some mushrooms grew in our garden!

We have been looking at our garden a lot!

When we went to the garden we picked some weeds, and then the other class weeded the rest!

Plants need water, soil, and sunlight to grow..

Our onion plants have all of that!

The soil is the most important thing for plants.

The most important things plants need are water and soil to make them grow bigger and bigger.


Stay tuned for our next post!!!!

Observing soil!

Third grade has been working hard to learn the parts of a plant so that we are ready to plant our own lettuce, pansies, and celery! We have observed humus, clay and sand in dry and wet form to see how they change. Our classes even discussed in which environment our plants would thrive. We can't wait to see how they grow... check back for updates!

Seeds Have Been Planted!

The 2nd graders were so excited about this project when we presented to them what they would be doing. We all met with our paired classes in 4th grade to discuss what the two classes would be doing. Both classes will be grown lettuce, but in different ways. 4th grade will be doing their growing through hydroponics while 2nd grade will be using soil. The students met with partners and the 4th graders explained to the 2nd graders what hydroponics was and the 2nd graders were able to explain how they were going to grow their plants through soil. The students loved meeting with the older kids, discussing their projects, and getting to know them!

 2nd graders have used the last couple of weeks to get their seeds planted and into their soil cups. We are not only growing lettuce, but also cabbage, kale, peppers, collards, and broccoli. The students loved getting their hands dirty and being able to plant their seeds on their own.

Hydroponic Expert Visits 4th Grade!

This past week 4th grade had the pleasure of meeting former Cary mayor Glen Lang. Mr.Lang,  now in retirement, spends his days as a second career farmer. Mr Lang is co owner of LL Urban Farms. Hydroponic lettuce is main crop of LL Urban Farms, so Mr. Lang was able to share his expertise with our entire 4th grade! Since we are brand new to the world of hydroponics, we were super excited to hear his gardening tips. We especially liked that Mr. Lang shared with us that he learned everything he knows about farming from YouTube!! So we will definitely be checking out some videos on hydroponic farming in the coming weeks! To prepare for his visit, each student came up with a question or two to ask!

We are very excited to see how well our hydroponic lettuce grows so that we can have Mr. Lang come back!!