Hi Redbud Families,
This week our curriculum will focus on how we take care of plants and how plants take care of us!
In today’s teacher message, Fox and I talk about compost. I demonstrate how I add ingredients to my compost tumbler and feed the finished compost to my raspberry plants. At the end of the video, we talk about how lots of tiny creatures work together to change things into compost, and how people can also work together to make big changes. So if your kiddo is interested in bugs and worms and microbes, perhaps the video can serve as another jumping off point to talk about the Black Lives Matter movement and ongoing protests.
Suggested Activities:
Composting with kids — If you compost at home, and your Redbud isn’t already involved in the process, it’s a great opportunity to learn about decomposition and help take care of plants (and the planet)! Encourage them to collect fruit and veggie scraps or yard trimmings to add to the pile, help mix the composting materials, or get up close and personal with the bugs and worms (and microbes) that are helping break it down.
If you don’t have the space or don’t want a compost pile in your yard, it’s possible to compost in a jar—and also a pretty cool way to be able to see the process as it unfolds! Full instructions are here.
Dancing to “My Roots Go Down” — Talking about plants getting nutrients through their roots reminded me of this song, which is always a hit at CCS singalongs. See if your Redbud can pretend to be a pine tree on a mountainside, a willow tree swaying in the breeze, a wildflower pushing through the stones, a juicy and sweet tomato, and a strong, still mountain—then burn off some energy rocking out to the chorus.
Here’s our resource list again. It includes links to resources for talking to kids about race and racialized violence, as well as suggestions for anti-racist actions you can take here in Philly. Please let us know if you have a resource you think we should add!
Take care,
Seth
