Surprise!
The same formula last year’s 2nd grade class used to grow plants outdoors didn’t produce the same favorable results for this year’s 2nd grade group.
A stretch of heavy rain followed by high temperatures stunted the growth of popcorn seeds planted by Mrs. Joseph’s 2nd grade class on Sept. 11. Conversely, the 2nd grade class of Ms. Pastor-Castillo, who also planted on Sept. 11, grew its kidney beans in the classroom and produced better results in plastic bags even without natural light. The experiment ended on Sept. 27.
“The outside elements did not turn out as expected,” said Ms. Joseph, who has 28 students in her class. “The results proved to be the opposite of what we thought it would be.” Only about half of the plants lived, she said.
As it turned out, the 27 students in Ms. Pastor-Castillo’s class had the advantage with indoor temperatures consistently ranging from 72 degrees to 75 degrees. Every two days, her students used three tablespoons of water on the plants. “The plants grew out of the bags and in four days we were able to see the roots,” she said. The biggest one, she said, grew about 4 inches.
Christopher Fultz, Jr., a 2nd-grader in Ms. Joseph's class, shares his journal on his plant-growing project.
Ms. Joseph’s class used one cup of soil, dug a hole, put in five seeds, covered it up and topped it off with ¼ cup of water on the front side of the East Campus building. Her students checked on the seeds about every three days, she said. The heavy rains came as Tropical Storm Ingrid slammed Mexico in mid-September.
“It hurt our plants because there was a lot of water,” Ms. Joseph said. “We never moved them.”
So while things didn’t go exactly as planned, the students from both classes learned a few things: how to compare and contrast the different environments that produced different results and coming together to observe the finished products and compare notes. Writing also came into play because the students kept journals.
It was quite different when Ms. Joseph’s 2nd-grade class grew plants outdoors last year. The weather cooperated and the plants flourished, she said. Those children were later featured in a 2013 Varnett calendar proudly holding their work of art. (See bottom photo)
Ms. Joseph said this year’s group was disappointed but her students will try again. “I felt badly for the kids,” she said.