Child's Name - Copley-Fairlawn City Schools

News from the Greenhouse
~ Jessica Huth ~
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The Greenhouse and Nature Zone have been bustling with
activity! The children have been coming out for classes and
have observed nature at work in our school’s backyard.
They noticed a hawk flying overhead, a praying mantis, and
huge spiders, as well as a mouse nest in the pumpkin garden.
Greenhouse Classes
In September, all 1st through 4th grade classes participated in
the following lessons:
➢ Plants Parts We Eat ~ Students identified the various
plant parts used for food. To illustrate this, we made and
tasted salsa with produce from the Nature Zone gardens.
Can your student(s) match the plant part with corresponding
plant examples?
Flowers •
Roots •
Stems •
Leaves •
Fruit •
Seeds •
Bulbs •
Tubers •
• Onion, Garlic
• Corn, Peas, Beans
• Potatoes
• Celery, Asparagus
• Carrots, Radishes
• Broccoli, Cauliflower
• Tomatoes, Pepper, Zucchini
• Lettuce, Spinach
➢ Medicine Plants ~ The children learned that some plants
have medicinal properties. Did you know that about one half
of all of the medicines in the world come from plants? We
took a closer look at an Aloe Vera plant and learned that
the gel found inside of the leaf is used for many medicinal
purposes and that it is widely used to treat burns. We cut a
leaf open and touched the soothing gel found inside.
➢ Plant Press Sandwiches ~ We examined a plant press
which is used for drying flowers and discussed how it works.
We took a walk through the Nature Zone to collect small
flowers and leaves that we then pressed. These will be used
later in the year for a project.
Additionally, our weekly classes participated in the
following activities:
➢ Harvesting Potatoes ~ The classes discussed how
potatoes grow, why we plant potatoes in tires, how to harvest
potatoes, and how to store them. The children harvested 10
lbs. of potatoes from the seed potatoes they planted last
spring. These included blue potatoes and yellow potatoes. The
remaining class time was spent tending their vegetable garden.
4
➢ Orienteering ~ The students in 1st and 2nd grade
learned about cardinal points and directions while
participating in a Nature Zone scavenger hunt using
navigation, counting, and documenting skills as they recorded
their observations. The children in 3rd and 4th grade learned
about how a compass works and discussed its uses. After
having been taught how to use a compass, they practiced their
newly acquired skill to orient themselves in the Nature Zone
while taking part in an orienteering game.
Our Kindergarten classes went on a Nature Zone Tour
during which they had the opportunity to familiarize
themselves with the various gardens in the Nature Zone.
Can your child name them all? Read on, the answers are at
the end of the article. After walking through the Greenhouse,
they stopped at the pond, noticed the compass rose on their
way to the chicken coop, located the compost bins, and took
a stroll on the boardwalk around the wetland. Meanwhile,
they collected small flowers and leaves, which were pressed
for a later project.
Special Thanks
Thank you to all the Greenhouse volunteers who have
given many hours of their time:
➢ The many parents who came in to help with classes.
➢ Our Greenhouse set-up crew under the direction of
Paula Mularcik: Henrietta Andrade, Sabrina Hilder,
Kelly Sherman, and Tara Talsma.
➢ Our Greenhouse teachers: Atalie Givens, Jessica Huth,
Donna Kleinheinz, Ali Lee, Ann McCord, Sam
Morlan (Master Gardener), Casey Pittman, Heather
Queen-Williams, Véronique Stark, Annie Steller,
Deanna Troutman, and Sarah Vradenburg (Master
Gardener).
➢ And last but not least, the glue that keeps it all together,
Jessica Huth, our chairperson.
Thank you to Paula Mularcik and George Lyon for cutting
the wetland edges that were growing over the boardwalk.
Many thanks to Paula Mularcik for donating some house
plants for the greenhouse. One is a green variegated
Wandering Jew and the other is a Sensitive Plant. This plant
has been a hit with the children! When its leaves are gently
touched, they close up and after a few minutes they reopen.