Library Learning Patch - Children Discovering Nature

We plan to have a lot of fun this year with our group of children. For those of you who are new to this site, the Library Learning Patch - Children Discovering Nature, is a joint project  between the Red River County Public Library (Sponsored by the Friends of the Library) and the Red River Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalist organization. Master Naturalists will teach the children about the natural world around them by reading  library books, as well as providing hands on experiences while growing vegetables.

We're Ready To Learn!

 Week One:

The first week we read the book, How Groundhog's Garden Grew.The children loved the beautiful illustrations. A delicious snack of "dirt cake" complete with earthworms was enjoyed while learning  about different types of soil and which one is best for gardens. Each child held samples of sand, silt, and clay,  and compared them. Then out to the  the garden--tilling, raking and smoothing the soil to get it ready for planting. They also made paper pots out of recycled newspaper. Sunflower and basil seeds will be planted in these pots for later transplanting to the garden. Notebooks were issued to each child. They will keep a journal, as well as adding information each week. The children made mini-books about soil characteristics. Mini-books will be made each session and then compiled into a lap book for the children to keep.

Week Two:

The second week was very busy. We first read the book, Yucky Worms. They discovered that earthworms are fascinating creatures. As you can see from the photographs, these were definitely a hit!  We planted our sunflower and basil seeds in our newspaper pots. Then out to the garden--the children planted lettuce and radish seeds. They also planted onions. What fun! After watering the new plantings thoroughly, the earthworms were released. It was fun seeing them work their way into the soil. We discussed how the earthworms benefit the soil.

We love worms!

Week Three:

From Seed to Sunflower was the book of choice this week. The children were also encouraged to check out other books about the subjects being studied this year. The library has a great collection of nature books for children. We made mini-books about seeds we planted, as well as ones showing what plants need to live. Their snack this week featured different kinds of food that have seeds--apples, oranges, bananas, grapes, strawberries, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds. Lima beans were opened to view the tiny seed within them.  The newspaper pots were checked--some of the sunflowers and basil had sprouted. Then out to the garden--our radishes and lettuce were up! Hurrah! The children weeded, planted more lettuce, and then watered everything.

Carefully planting our seeds!

Next week we will have fun making our scarecrow!