Bees, Flowers and Pollen! So many sensory opportunities in the gan....check out which ones we used this week.

Since our snacks have been primarily fruits and veggies, our compost helper had a  full bin to add.  The worms will be very busy this weekend!

Heidi's first challenge was to find a flower and really "study" it.  Max was eager to participate!

Charlie and Matthew checked out these purple flowers and observed that each flower was made of many tiny blooms.

We found that this big red flower had lots and lots of yellow pollen all over  it.  We laughed as many of the kids told us they were allergic to pollen and were very cautious as they approached this flower.   Heidi pointed out how difficult it would be for a bee to find the nectar in this flower because it is so deep...... and a bee's tongue is not  very  long.

Jonah was the first to observe the shape of these flowers and note that a bee could easily get to the nectar because the flower was so flat.

Do you know that when a bee looks at a red flower, it shows up as blue?  Using blue tinted paddles enabled the children to see a red flower just as a bee might.

The last step in the lesson was choosing a flower and drawing it for our journals.  Sammy is taking her time as she tries to capture all the flower's details.

Jack and James David chose a large flowering shrub to illustrate. This was a great opportunity for the children to reflect upon the lesson as they drew pictures of their favorite flower.

Charlie B. and Lukas came out another day to revisit the garden and check out these red flowers.  Using their new knowledge from Thursday's lesson , the boys wanted to see if they could find some pollen. In the next few weeks, Heidi is planning for the children to continue to explore the world of pollinators. As you look at flowers in your own garden see if your child can teach you what they are learning in our beautiful Gan.