Bulbs

School Gardens = Natural Playgrounds

Submitted by cynthiad on Mon, 08/13/2012 - 15:07

By:

Cynthia Domenghini, NGA Staff

Right Side Box:

Teachers at the K-State Center for Child Development use the produce from the garden to prepare simple dishes with their students. Here’s a recipe for Caprese Salad that is easy to make in a classroom.

Ingredients:

Thick slices of a Ripe Tomato (enough for each child to have at least one)
An equal number of slices of fresh mozzarella cheese
Twice as many leaves of fresh basil
A pinch of salt and pepper
Olive oil

Make sure everyone washes their hands and the work surface prior to touching the food.

Starting at the edge of a serving platter, place a slice of tomato, a basil leaf, a slice of mozzarella and another basil leaf. Continue in that pattern, forming a spiral from the outside in, until all the ingredients have been arranged. The salad should end in the center of the platter. Drizzle the salad with olive oil and sprinkle with black pepper and salt.

Upon arriving at the Center for Child Development (CCD) on the campus of Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, visitors quickly recognize the uniqueness of the facility.

Holding Onto the Garden — Environmental Sustainability

By:

Cynthia Domenghini, NGA Staff with Carol Fraser

“We make decisions in the garden based on what is good for the earth, not solely what is good for our short-term needs.” (Hurricane High School, Hurricane, WV)

Chill Out!

Submitted by sarahp on Tue, 07/20/2010 - 02:58

Objectives

Students will participate in a science experiment to learn the cold requirements of spring-flowering bulbs.

Bulb Botany

Submitted by sarahp on Tue, 07/20/2010 - 02:36

Objectives

Learn the different parts of a bulb and what they do.
Explore the parts of the bulb through dissection.

Central Concepts

A bulb is a plant that grows from an underground mass of food storage tissues.
The storage capacity of a bulb is a special adaptation for survival.

Materials

bulbs (onion and/or spring-flowering bulbs)
a knife
cutting board
plastic bags
paper towels
paper
pencils

Discussion Questions

Flower Power

Submitted by sarahp on Sun, 07/18/2010 - 07:45

Tapping the Universal Appeal of Cut Flowers

Whether starting zinnia seeds on a sunny windowsill, planting blooming bulbs in a container, or growing big garden plots of flowers so they can make and sell bouquets at the local farmers’ market, schoolchildren all over the United States experience the beauty of cut flowers as they learn valuable math, science, art, and history concepts.

BULBS!

Submitted by editor on Tue, 03/16/2010 - 12:27

Fall Planting for Spring Magic....

Spring-flowering bulbs are some of the most beloved plants of all time. This group includes favorites such as tulips, daffodils, crocus, and hyacinths. Blooming throughout the spring months, these special plants produce bright, cheery, and often fragrant flowers that herald the return of warmer weather.

Resources

Submitted by editor on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 16:30

By:

NGA Staff

Websites

The Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center
This site, Bulb.com, features all you'd ever want to know about flower bulbs, and then some.

Curriculum Connections

Which End is Up?

Consider engaging young students in observing bulbs and predicting which part is the top (produces the shoot) and which is the bottom (produces the root). It's not, after all, obvious to the untrained eye. Once they've made predictions, they can set up investigations to test their ideas.

Coaxing Flower Bulbs

Submitted by editor on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 16:07

Child preparing Amaryllis bulb in a garden container"A bulb is a promise," Wendy Sherman tells her preschoolers in Sudbury, MA. "You can do your part to provide certain conditions for them, and then you have to hope that nature comes through with the rest." These marvelous packages, each containing a complete miniature plant and its lunch, can brighten winter classrooms with the prospect of spring and provide a captivating theme for studies across the curriculum.

Bulb Award Brings Spring Color to Vermont School

Submitted by admin on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 17:42

Spring-blooming bulbs are intriguing plants to grow. You tuck them into the ground as the cool weather hits and then wonder all winter what they're doing down there. Just when you think you can’t wait another day and winter will never end, you see green leaves beginning to emerge from the ground. The excitement builds as they grow larger every day, followed by the grand finale of beautiful blooms smiling at you.