Peels, Plants and a Barrel

Function, Responsibility, Nature

Some of the K2 students noticed a large barrel in the EY playground. We decided to share 3 images with the children to spark their curiosity and help them explore connections. 

How might these three images be connected?

The children began to share what they noticed, tapping into their prior knowledge to share their viewpoints.

Many of the children wondered about the barrel. It looked strange. They decided that it must be for water. They thought that the barrel was connected to the plants because plants need water to grow.

• Do banana peels grow into plants?
• Are the peels good for the plants?
• Why do we need a barrel of water near the garden plots?
• Is the water for the toilets?

We wonder how we can find out about the barrel. Perhaps the community can help us with our research.

A group of volunteers interviewed the teachers and students to see what they could find out about the barrel.

-What is it?

-How is it used?

-Why is it in the playground?

The team came back to share what they had learned.

Tracey “We were spinning the barrel. We can’t put worms in it because the worms will get sick.”

Two children went outdoors to test the barrel to see if it does spin around.  

• Noah “I asked Kyle What is this?”
• Allen “Ms. Dora says this is eat food put on the bin. Apples and banana peels and watermelon. No eggs.”
• Mason “We go to some teachers and children and we asked them ‘What is this?’. And they said you put some rubbish in it. We can’t put plastic and glass and meat and egg.”
• Noah “We can put egg shells in it.”

The research group documented their ideas on chart paper.

They watched a short video on what to put into a compost bin to help them expand on their initial thinking. The team visited PreK-K1B and Keira presented the ideas her class had documented on chart paper.

two children presented what they learned about the items that can go into the compost bin.

We wondered what we might do next?

Some of the children suggested that we begin to collect the food we throw away and put it in the compost bin. A few other children wondered what will happen to the food if we left it out.

-Perhaps ants might come in to eat the food.

-It might get yucky.

Nicolas explained that when you put these types of foods into the bin, they get rotten. Then, the soil can be used to put into the plants and that will help all the fruits and vegetables grow!

We know that we can use our senses to observe and notice the changes that happen in nature. We know that we use these skills to help us make decisions. We look forward to seeing how these observations may lead to action.

Our work as composters begin…