GrowingGreat

Did you know?? Thanks to our friends Del Monte Foods, National Agriculture in the Classroom is incorporating our STEM-learning activities into their the activity The Quicker The Better! Have you tried one of our at-home activities yet? You can find our full Graph Your Groceries activity here: https://www.delmonte.com//Graphing_Groceries_Lesson_Biling

This Wednesday, March 31 at 1:00 p.m. EDT, join educators from The Academy of Natural Sciences, Discovery Center at Murfree Spring, Marbles Kids Museum and us for a webinar sharing insights on developing STEM programs with nutritional components. All webinar participants will receive GrowingGreat's series of 20 hands-on science activities and videos in English and Spanish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch

From our friends at the Kokua Hawaii Foundation https://www.youtube.com/watch

Today is #GivingTuesday! Please help us support families in low-income communities by visiting this link: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/growinggreat Any donations received between now and the end of the year will be matched by an anonymous donor!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vqs-VRTfqlg

This activity is inspired by our friends at the Detroit Zoo. You Will Need: Seeds from veggies and fruits you have at home (e.g. tomatoes, bell peppers, strawberries, apples and oranges), knife, potting soil, homemade pots (e.g. yogurt/pudding cups, milk carton, egg shells), and a nail... 1. Clean out the container completely and allow it to dry. 2. Using the nail, poke a small hole in the bottom of each container. 3. Fill container mostly full with potting soil. 4. Dissect uneaten food scraps and remove seeds. 5. Plant 2-3 seeds 1/4 inch deep in each container. 6. Moisten the soil and place the container in a warm location. 7. Once the seeds germinate, in 1-2 weeks, move the seeds to a sunny window. Continue to keep soil moist. 8. Transplant seedlings outside after any danger of spring frost or continue to care for them indoors. What Do You Think? Did your fruits have different numbers of seeds? Why do you think some had more than others? How are the seeds you observe similar or different? What environmental factors do you think helped the seeds germinate? Did any of the seeds never germinate? Why might a seed not germinate? In nature, how do you think fruit seeds get into the soil to grow?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sVtbU0hz7o

The Challenge: Use scientific definitions to classify fruits and vegetables. This activity was inspired by our friends at @discoveryplacenc. You Will Need: fruits and vegetables (canned, fresh, frozen, play food), plant model 1Have your children use their five senses to study the similarities and differences among the vegetables and fruits and sort them as they are classified in cooking. Fruits are sweet. Vegetables are savory. 2Using a plant model, have the students iden...tify its parts (roots, stems, leaves, flowers) and discuss scientific classification. Fruits come from the flower of a plant and have seeds. Vegetables can be any other edible plant parts. 3Now have children sort the vegetables and fruits by their scientific classification, based on which part of the plant they come from. 4Did you know that a colorful plate makes for the best (and healthiest) snacks and meals? Use vegetables and fruits to make a color wheel by sorting them into groups of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Taste, discuss and enjoy! What do you think? What are some ways you could determine whether an unknown food is a fruit or vegetable? How are fruits and vegetables similar? How are they different? How might fruit seeds get back into soil so another plant can grow? When sorting the fruits and vegetables by color, why did some color groups have more than others? Why is eating a rainbow variety of fruits and vegetables important?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Fc2007MvA&t=166s