Theme: WHY Do We Have Seasons?

 Greetings Scientists Everywhere!

We've been looking at signs of Fall in the garden and one of the biggest signs is the amount of sunlight.

Activity: What signs of Fall have you found?

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In this video, the person explaining about seasons speaks really fast, but, does a great job explaining WHY we have seasons. 

Watch it a couple of times if you can't understand what she's saying...

Earth is in SPACE, spinning and orbiting around and around!

* We have seasons on our planet because Earth is tilted.

(Leaning at an angle)

The tilt angles us towards the sun and away from the sun at different times of the year and that's why we have seasons!

* And that's why we notice the light changing in our garden and we can only grow certain plants at certain times of the year.

Activity: To observe our planet spinning through space, try tracing your shadow.

- If you have CHALK, have a buddy trace the outline of your shadow:

*Note the time you traced it!

* If you don't have chalk or can't go outside, you can use a piece of paper and sit near a window and do the same thing with a marker:

- Next, wait 15 minutes (or more!)

- Now, stand in the same spot on your shadow outline - what do you notice? Is your shadow in the same spot?

*WOW COOL! Your shadow shifted a little bit because our Earth is spinning through space. 

* That's why we have night time and day time!

* The position of our Earth changes throughout the year - depending on where we are in relation to the sun... that's why we notice different changes in seasons. 

What are some of your favorite Fall activities?

Remember the squirrels from last week? 

Here's a story about "Raccoons and Ripe Corn," by Jim Arnosky!

Theme: The Food Connection

 Happy Saturday, Gardeners (and Chefs)!

I love growing food, but I'm not much of a cook. 

I love the process and seeing what folks do around the world with amazing ingredients. I appreciate the science behind it, as well as the tradition, history, and human connection.

Some great food docu-series came out on Netflix this week and I wanted to share my favorites with you:

- The Taco Chronicles

- The Great British Baking Show

- The Chef Show

- Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat - featuring Berkeley's Samin Nosrat

- Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

- Ugly Delicious - which features one of my favorite restaurants in Fruitvale, Oakland, "Reem's California" - amazing Palestinian food!

I'm so inspired by watching people cook! 

It helps me decide what to grow and to stay connected to the seasons as our amazing planet cycles around the sun.

Have a great weekend, Everyone, Everywhere!

Theme: A Fall Garden Mystery

Fall is here, Scientists!

How can you tell that seasons are changing in our garden?

Activity: Find something in nature that is a sign of Fall.

The animals in our garden definitely know when seasons change!

Check out this garden mystery that occurred and see if you can tell what happened...and WHY?

The plot thickens! Let's gather some more evidence...

What do you think happened? 

Who is eating our sunflowers?

Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion!

We share our garden with the animals who live here and everyone needs to eat. I am thankful that our garden can be a habitat and safe place for many living things - who have the same needs as us.

We are all connected.

Observing the squirrels in our garden...

Now I have more questions:

- Are they the same squirrels that come each time?

- What species of squirrel lives in our garden?

-What do different squirrels around the world eat?

...Next time, we'll be learning about WHY seasons change on our planet Earth!

Theme: Scientific Observations in the Garden

Good Morning Scientists!

We've been focusing on being scientists in the garden - and that means asking a LOT of questions!

It's great to ask questions and to be curious, but we also have to try to answer our questions in order to keep learning.

*Scientists make observations in order to gather information to help them answer their questions. 

*They can measure the size, weight, or look at the texture, or use their senses to tell how something feels, sounds, smells, tastes, or what it looks like.

Here's a great way to collect scientific data in the garden (or anywhere!):

Activity: Find an object to observe.

What do you notice about it? "I notice it's green, it's 2 inches long, it smells like roses and lemons... "

What do you wonder about it? "I wonder if it will grow, or if it was planted, or if something will eat it, or what kind of leaf it is..."

What does it remind you of? "It reminds me of soap..."

Next - make a drawing of it using pictures, words, and numbers.

Describe it:

We might need to do more research to find out what type of leaf it is. We might need to look in a book, ask other gardeners, or take more photographs to answer all of our questions. This is how scientists figure stuff out. 

Be safe and have fun exploring, Scientists!

Stay curious!

Theme: If You Plant A Seed...

 First, a beautiful story:

Next, hello Scientists and Gardeners!

Last time in garden, we were asking ourselves, "hmm, how are gardeners and scientists the same or different?"

In our classes, we solved problems in our garden by brainstorming different solutions and testing them out - just like scientists do with experiments.

Part of being a scientist and a gardener is observing what is going on in the garden with our plants.

Activity: Try planting a seed with just a paper towel and some water:

Put the paper towel in the lid of a container:

*I used popcorn and sunflower seeds!

Next, water it (keep the seeds damp) and wait (5 days for the first tiny sprout, a month for bigger sprouts):

Try this with beans, apple seeds, peppers, or any other seeds you might find! Observe your seeds every day!

*Check out this cool footage of a bean sprouting in time-lapse ballet!

Theme: Amazing Plant Engineers!

Engineers are a special kind of scientist who design buildings, furniture, tools, machines, bridges, and all kinds of other things we use in our daily lives.

In the garden, plants are also AMAZING engineers! They have structures that help them survive:

And, before there were rockets or airplanes, there were milkweed seeds! Check it out:

What other brilliant engineering examples can you think of from nature that we use as humans? 

Nature did it first, humans copied it!

Activity: Design the ultimate garden tool.

What does it do?

How does it help make farming or gardening easier?

Theme: A Gardener or a Scientist? Or Both?

 Hola Jardineros! Hello Gardeners!

Last time in garden, we learned about the Three Sisters (corn, squash, and beans) - 3 plants who are interconnected to each other.

Each plants helps the others survive.

In science this week, you've been learning about what a scientist is.

A scientist asks questions and makes observations about the world around them. Then, they solve problems by experimenting, making mistakes, and trying again to answer their questions.

Farmers and gardeners do the same thing!

We plant seeds - sometimes they grow and sometimes they don't. Then, we try different things to help them to grow.

We can observe what works and what doesn't work either in a notebook, a journal, or in our memories from season to season.

The work we do as scientists, farmers, and gardeners helps people have food, have medicine, have shelter, and learn about the world around them!

Activity: Draw yourself as a Gardener. 

What do you grow in your garden? 

What should you think about as you plan your garden?

What might be a challenge?