OPS Education Space

Watching the Change in Seasons

There is a hum in the air, a perfume in the breeze and an abundance of colour emerging from their beds. Spring is springing all around us and it is a wonderful end to our term of Biological Science. Across the year levels we have been looking at the life cycles of plants, how seeds grow, how plants and animals adapt to their environment and the role insects play in pollination, just to name a few. With the school holidays here and beautiful weather forecast, it is the perfect opportunity to get outside and see our plants, insects and bird life in action. Go for a walk through a garden, take a bike ride around one of the many beautiful open parklands in Melbourne or simply step out into your yard or balcony.

Spring also sees an increase in birds returning for the warmer weather so it is no surprise that the first week of the holidays is Bird Life Australia’s Great Aussie Bird Count. This is an official survey that is run each year and asks members of the public to spend 20 minutes a day for a week recording which bird species they see and how many. (You can find their website here).

If you are around the same place for the holidays, encourage your child to take a photograph of the same plant at the same time every day then compare the photographs at the end. Can you see a flower turning from a bud to a fully open bloom? Can you see a new leaf unfurling? 

Now, you may think children can get bored wandering around a garden, but if you give them a challenge they may start looking very closely indeed! Find the prettiest/weirdest/smallest/largest flower or leaf in the garden. If you are in a botanic garden with name plates, see if they can find the longest and shortest scientific name in the garden. Is there a plant name that starts with the same letter as their name? Extra points if the plant has two words in the name with one starting with their first and then last name. Middle name? Now there is a challenge!

Plants can be found everywhere! Even the most unlikely of places have a surprising amount of greenery. If you find yourself in the city, what can you see growing? How do shopping centres use plants to lift your mood encouraging you to stay longer? Why do we cut flowers and put them in vases? 

Get gardening! Whether it be in a garden bed or in a pot, now is a great time to plant beans and peas. They grow quickly, the flowers attract lots of pollinating insects to the garden and there is nothing like the crunch you get when biting into a freshly picked snow pea! If you select climbing varieties, they will climb up a trellis on the fence or a simple frame sticking up out of a pot. 

Whatever you decide to do, have a safe and enjoyable school holiday period and we will see you in Term 4!

Delia Robey

Year 3 and 4 PLC Leader, Education Sub Committee Convenor