Sweet on Soil

Today we had a guest from Porter County Soil and Water Conservation District.

The kinders used all their senses (except for taste) to explore soil. They learned the difference between sand, clay, and humus. Mrs. Benson brought cups of "soil" for the students to observe. She made soil from kitchen ingredients- flour, cinnamon, corn starch, sugar, and sprinkles.

They first used their eyes to see their cup of "soil." They talked about the color and size.

 

Next they shook their cups to hear what the soil sounded like. They observed that the soil with the sprinkles made more noise than the soil without large pieces.  Then they opened their cups to smell their "soil" and talked about the smell. The kids really liked the mixture with the cocoa powder!  They got to feel their soil, too. 

Mrs. Benson discussed the difference between sand, clay, and humus.  The class learned how a garden would do in each type of soil. She had the class measure water and add it to their cups. The students had to stir their "soil" and try to make a ball. They learned that the best soil can be rolled into a ball when wet. That kind of soil is called humus and we want humus in our gardens!  

It was just good luck that Mrs. Benson's schedule allowed her to be in our classroom today; we have been reading lots of books about plants and the life cycle of a plant during our reading lessons! I am excited to continue with studying plants. I just bought All About Plants from Kindergarten Smiles.