Saturday, September 25, 2010

The Smucker Family visits Devizes Wiltshire, UK





Cletus Ralphie Smucker and his little sister Betty Sue were able to attend the September carnival in Devizes Wiltshire, UK. http://www.devizes.org.uk/

DIRT BABIES


Students had the opportunity to observe grass sprouting and will watch grass growing like hair on the heads they created from knee-high nylon stockings and potting soil.
The grain grows very rapidly during the first ten days after fertilization. Our wheat seed sprouted on the 3rd day.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

HAPPY NATIONAL CHEESE PIZZA DAY!

What do you do when you find out National Cheese Pizza Day is in September? You make pizza during an agriculture activity. Pizza is a world-popular dish of Italian origin, made with an oven-baked, flat, generally round bread that is often covered with tomatoes or a tomato-based sauce and mozzarella cheese. Pizza dough is made from wheat, one of Kansas' top agricultural commodities. Tomatoes grow well in Kansas' long, hot summers and are a popular item in our school garden, backyard gardens and farmer’s markets. Cheese is made from the milk of dairy cows.

Pizza first made its appearance in the US with the arrival of Italian immi-

grants in the late 19th century. Pizza was sold on the streets of Italian

neighborhoods in cities like San Franciso, Chicago, New York City and

Philadelphia. Gennaro Lombardi opened the first licensed American pizzeria

in New York City in 1905.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Pollination



Bees can help flowers make seeds. Bees look for pollen and sweet juice. The bee's first job is to move pollen from the anther of one flower to the female stigma of another flower. In other words, when a bee gets pollen from a flower, the pollen sticks to bee. The bee goes to another flower and the pollen falls onto the stigma. Most flowers use this pollen to make seeds. Other flowers use their own pollen to make seeds. Each tiny pollen grain grows into a long tube. They grow until they come to the ovary. Now a male gamete from the pollen tube joins the egg from the ovary and a seed is born.