On Monday we became little worker bees here in room 205 - we pollinated our flowers!Last week and this week, we've been discussing how plants make new plants. We all knew that you start with a seed - but what we weren't sure about was where seeds come from.
After some reading, some looking at plants, and a short video, we determined that seeds come from the same place where flowers had been growing. A cherry tree with lots of flowers would be a great thing for a cherry farmer, even though he or she didn't sell flowers!
We then learned that the pollen from one flower has to be put onto another flower. Flowers attract bugs (like bees!) and butterflies and hummingbirds to them by being pretty in color or having good smelling nectar. How nice a flower looks and smells isn't just aesthetic - it's also useful. We also discussed that pollen can stick to a curious dog's nose or to our clothes as we walk and we sometimes - accidentally - help pollinate flowers too.
We then collected the pollen from our flowers using Q-tips to get deep in. We saw the yellow, dusty pollen on the tips. Then we pollinated a friend's flower. Now we wait - hopefully we'll have seeds to replant soon!
Of course, after working with our plants, we recorded any observations we have had. Our recording packets are filling up with pictures, words, and numbers showing how our plants have changed.
