How Does a Garden Grow?

Field Trip
The students will be attending the How does a garden grow field?
field trip at Ballantine Farm. The students will investigate how soil is
formed. They will be exposed to concepts such as germination,
pollination, and fruit production through an exploration of different
types of plants. The field trip is very hands on and developmentally
appropriate for Kindergarten. What is perfect about this field trip is
that it is catered directly to kindergarten. The farm has field trips often
and tailors the information directly to the standards for Kindergarten.
The activity itself because it is very hands on and has the kids getting
messy will keep them engaged and entertained. It covers multiple
kindergarten standards including Science K.1, K.6, and K.8. The price
of the program is $9 a student. The parents will be informed of this
field trip and its date at the beginning of the year and encouraged to
participate. It will also be posted on my website as well as included in
the newsletters sent home.
It is important for parents to be apart of field trips just as it is
important to have them involved in the classroom. Parents presence
can add energy and inspiration. They can share ideas, interests, family
tradition, and cultures in person thereby deepening childrens
understanding of their classmates and broadening their perspectives
on their community and the world (Davis & Yang 2005 pg. 99). It is
important to have parents involved in field trips because they can
bring with them information that we as teachers may have no
knowledge of. This is another way in which teachers can take on the
role of learner. Especially on this field trip, many of the parents within
my community have a background in agriculture. This is an opportunity
for myself as the teacher to learn from the parents and family of my
students (Moll 1992). This field trip is yet another step for me to gain
trust, respect, and collaboration with the parents of my students
(Epstein).
Pre Field Trip Activity (will be completed in the week leading up to
the field trip)
A Handful of Dirt -Raymond Bial
Life in a Bucket-Alin Silverstein
o Discuss with the students the different layers of soil
(Ballantine).
Layers of Soil Experiment
1. Have students collect 1 cup of soil for different locations. Place
each dirt sample in a glass jar with a lid and add water to the top
of the jar. Screw on the lid. Shake he jar vigorously for half a
minute. (hold secure with both hands) Allow the jar to sit until

the dirt and the water start to settle down. The soil will settle
into layers.
2. Observe the layers in the jar and see what you can discover
about them. Draw a
a. picture of the layers.
i. How many layers are there?
ii. Are all the layers the same color?
iii. Which layer was the thickest?
b. - Which layer is made up of the largest particles? Smallest
particles?
i. In what order did the soil settle? (largest particles on
top layer or bottom layer?)
ii. Can you guess why the layers settled in the order
they did?
3. To further examine the different layers and what they are made
of, you can sort the soil materials and examine them. Use a
spoon to skim off the objects floating in the water. Place them on
a paper towel.
4. Then carefully pour off the water on the top and scoop out the
grains of the next level onto another paper towel. Repeat this
process for each level.
5. After each level has been placed on paper towels, examine them
using a
magnifying glass. What is discovered upon further examination?
Did all the different samples have the same number of layers? Is
there a correlation between the thickest layer and the location
where the sample came from?
Stem Experiment
This experiment will help students understand how the stem of a plant
supports the plant.
1. Fill two small bottles or narrow glasses with water.
2. Add a few drops of red food coloring to one bottle and the same
number of drops of blue food coloring to the other bottle.
3. An adult should cut the stem of a white carnation in half so that
of each stem will fit in each bottle.
4. Leave the flower and bottles in a sunny place for a few hours and
check them. What happened?
5. Give each student a fresh cut piece of celery. Allow them to
observe the celery using a magnifying glass. They should look
for the tubes that carry water to the leaves of the plant. Now
stick each piece of celery in water with red or blue food coloring.
Leave over night. Next day have the students observe the end
of the celery again using a magnifying glass. The tubes which
carry water from the roots to the leaves should be very easy to
observe now.

Read How A Plant Grows by Bobbie Kalman to explain pollination and

how a seed is formed. The experiment in the field trip will demonstrate
pollination. Background knowledge on pollination prior to the field trip
will be helpful for students (Ballantine).
Post Field Trip Activities
1. Have the students draw pictures and/or write about their field
trip using attachments 3 or 4. Put all the pages together to make
a class book. Students will enjoy the book during the rest of the
year.
2. Take the students on a nature walk to collect different soil
samples. Using the knowledge they acquired on the field trip,
students should be able to determine the best soil for growing
seeds (Ballantine).

Field Trip Permission Form

Dear Parents,
Our class will be going on a field trip to Ballantine Farm.
The students will be attending the How does a garden grow
field? The students will investigate how soil is formed. They
will be exposed to concepts such as germination, pollination,
and fruit production through an exploration of different types
of plants. The field trip is very hands on and can be a little
bit messy! Please wear clothes that can get
dirty!! (We will be playing with dirt )
Date: November 28th
Time: 9:00am-12:00pm
Cost: $9.00

_____ Check here if you are unable to pay this fee and
we will make accommodations for you
Please fill out and return the bottom portion of the page
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------My Child _______________________, has permission to join out
class on the field trip to Ballantine Farms.
Please check one:
_____ Yes I would like to volunteer to be a chaperone
_____ No I will not be able to attend this trip
Parent name:_______________________________________
Parent phone number:_______________________________________
Parent signature:_______________________________________

BallentineFarmHome.(n.d.).RetrievedMarch25,2016,from
http://www.ballentinefarm.com/
Davis,C.,&Yang,A.(2005).Parents&teachersworkingtogether.TurnersFalls,
..MA:NortheastFoundationforChildren.
Epstein.(n.d.).Epstein'sFrameworkofSixTypesofInvolvement.
Moll,L.,Amanti,C.,Neff,D.,&Gonzalez,N.(1992).FundsofKnowledgefor
Teaching:UsingaQualitativeApproachtoConnectHomesandClassrooms.Theory
IntoPractice,31(2),132141.RetrievedFebruary13,2016,from
https://canvas.jmu.edu/courses/1367294/files/64367422?module_item_id=143999