I want plants that will be safe to keep indoors in a pre-k classroom and that the kids can help water. There is someone on here (I forget who) who has reccomended plants in the past, but I can't find the posts... Thanks!
I could be wrong, but I don't see why a violet wouldn't work. They candy those to put on cakes and stuff so they probably aren't poisonous. On a windowsill they do really well. Just not too much water. Other than that I can't help.
Plants are wonderful. Philodendron, Spider Plants and Wondering Jew are easy to grow. There are plants that were tested by NASSAU for their ability to filter and clean indoor air of pollutants such as cigarette smoke and chemicals from off-gassing of new carpeting and furniture, as well as others. Ferns, peace plant, spider plant, mother-in-law's tongue (snake plant), corn plant, etc, are just a few. Is this the post you are looking for?
Yes, yes it is. Thank you. Do you suggest Home Depot/Lowes or Menards would have such things, or do I need to go to a garden center (is it bad I can't think of what one of those is called?)
I find the cheapest plants grow as good for you as any. I was given a Peace Lily and I love it. This was a new plant for me last year. Materials: 1 knee high pantyhose foot/student ----soil -----rye grass seeds (can get at any nursery-cheap)----string----mugs ---variuos beads, toothpicks, etc. to decorate grass heads Procedure: Drape the foot of the pantyhose into a mug, folding the top edges around the rim of the mug to hold the hose in place. Drop a generous amount of rye seeds in the bottom of the hose. Top with enough soil to make a small ball, the size of a tennis ball. Take the pantyhose off the mug and shake until the soils falls all the way to the bottom of the hose. Gather the top of the panty hose and tie with string to form a ball. Cut off any extra pantyhose. Put the grass heads in a shallow container and water generously. Continue to water daily until the grass hair begins to grow. After the hair has grown, the kids can decorate the heads with beads, toothpicks for earrings, etc. The cutest thing...you can gather a small portion of soil, tie w/ string, forming a small ball for the nose.
Fold the paper towel in half and crease. Unfold. (you can double your paper towel to make it a bit sturdier if you like) Poke three very small small holes, equally spaced, along the fold of the paper towel (we used a sharp pencil to do this) Place the seeds over top of the holes (one over each hole). Fold the paper towel back up and staple up the side (to make a pouch). Label the top of the paper towel (bean, corn and radish) Carefully place the paper towel (fold side down, so the seeds don't fall out) into the ziploc bag. Tape the ziploc bag onto the piece of card stock, leaving the top open. Tape as firmly as possible. Pour a small amount of water into the ziplock bag (the paper towel should end up damp) Do not close the bag Hang your experiment on the wall in a bright location Directions - Maintenance: Each morning, check the experiment. Pour more water in to keep the paper towel moist. Peek inside the ziploc bag/paper towel to see what the seed is doing The seed should break open. The roots should grow down through the small hole you poked in the paper towel. this isn't my idea. I got it from a chat board.
PLANT CELLS------CELERY CELLS Fill a glass with two inches of water, then add several drops of red or blue food coloring, enough to make a deep color. Break off an inch from the bottom of the celery so you have a fresh edge on the stalk. Place the stalk, with the fresh edge down, into the glass of colored water. Set the experiment in a warm place for at least an hour. When you come back, you will see that the celery's stalk and leaves have stripes of color running through them.....All plants have cells that are full of water. The water reaches the cells by traveling from the roots of a plant into the leaves through a series of tubes. The colored solution in this experiment made these pathways visible to you. If you break or cut off another section from the bottom of the stalk, you will be able to see the ends of thee tubes----a row of small colored dots. I keep two spider plants in my room (among others) and, at the end of the year, had enough "babies" to give each student one to take home. I potted them on Earth Day as part of a growth unit, but didn't tell my kids I was going to share them. They knew how to care for them already, and I asked that they bring back a "baby" to me after summer vacationPlants are also great because their color (green) really helps with concentration. Plants create an inviting atmosphere. As far as types...Ivy is very easy.
What about cactus and bamboo shoots? have both and well cactus is not that great for kids but the bamboo is nice easy to care for. Also I love aloe plants- those are pretty cool to investigate in the science center because you can open it up and look at the aloe inside and all of that interesting stuff. talk about the layers and whatnot
I couldn't find one of these at Lowes and apparently the "garden people" don't work there on Sunday... I went to supposedly the biggest garden center in the midwest too.... Hmmm... I think there is a nurshery somewhat near my house, maybe I'll investigate tomorrow.
I went to Lowes AND Home Depot looking for a spider plant and a philodendron and neither store had them. I actually found them both at Stop and Shop. I didn't buy them because they only had 1 of each and they looked a bit iffy, I figured I would look around more. However, try checking your local food stores!
The Jewel (our local food store) near me I call "$h!tty Jewel". It may have something to do with the fact that I live in a city, but the Jewel near my house is seriously the size of an average CVS or Walgreens. I've never seen plants in there. Pumpkins yes, plants no... I don't think our Home Depot has a garden section. I am going to call Menards tomorrow and see if they do.
Wow! that is a great idea! As for the celery I have done that one a few times the kids love it! We even kept it a few extra days to observe. Have you ever done that experiment with carnations? I have not but I have seen it done and its pretty cool. You can also bring in other types of flowers and compare the results and discuss if it worked and why they think so. Its fun.
When I student taught we did the carnation experiment. They were really pretty but the coolest part was that the teacher cut the stem of one in half and put each half in a different color. The flower was so cool! And the kids were really into it.
I'm not interested in starting a planting project with the kids at this point, though there were some very nice ideas up here. I just want a plant that will provide oxygen and look nice and relaxing in the classroom, and give kids some responsibility by having them take turns taking care of it. ...So, I guess I should go with one of the three suggested by Hescollin? The big question is: Where can I buy them? I am in New York City, far from any suburban or countryish nurseries as far as I know.
Our Wal Mart sells live plants. I don't know if you even have Wal Marts in New York City. I remember you have McDonalds. OK, I know they don't sell plants.
Do you have flower shops? Like you buy a dozen red roses at. And you buy flowers for funerals. Our flower shops have potted plants. Don't buy the mums and other flowering plants. They are pretty, but harder to keep alive.
I found a Home Depot with a nurshery tonight, but it was on my way to Target/Jewel and wasn't convinent for me to get off the bus, get plants, then go grocery shopping. I may check it out this weekend though. I suspect that a lot of places don't have garden centers here because of that thing called winter that starts in October and ends in April.
Hm... I can probably find a flower shop. Thanks for the tip. (The flowers near me are all cut, though...)
