Wednesday 29 June 2016

No-care Garden Terrariums to "Make your Idea pay"

An entrepreneur is someone who has great ideas and understands how to put those ideas to work in a business to provide a product like a terrarium that people will want to buy for their home and pay for it.

Our inquiry group made a terrarium for the Ideas Expo in term 2

When we finished our Terrarium we sealed it with clear tape to make it a closed
eco-system so it becomes a 'Self-managing' or 'No care' garden.


First our inquiry group went on a tikki tour around our Outdoor Classroom at SPS to find little pebbles, stones, bark, small dried twigs and soil.

Our teacher modelled how to set up a terrarium
Steps involved in making a terrarium
Seal the lid to make your terrarium a closed eco-system

This is what it looks like when completed

We worked in buddy pairs to make our own terrarium to add to the outdoor classroom.



First we cut a clear empty plastic coke bottle into half and we filled the bottom half with soil.

We planted one plant and some grass to support the plant and added half a cup of water to it.

Each pair took their terrarium and placed it inside our greenhouse to grow.


We had heaps of fun learning how to set up a terrarium and watch how a mini- Water Cycle works within a closed self-managing garden system.



Monday 27 June 2016

Re-usable bottled Terrarium for 'Making your idea pay'

                       Re-usable bottled Terrariums for Term 2 inquiry on 'Making your idea pay' 

This is how we went about making our Re-usable bottled Terrariums in our mix-ability inquiry cross groupings from Year 4 to 6 to make our idea pay.


First we went on a nature walk in our very own Outdoor Classroom native garden to gather pebbles, bits of wood or charcoal, soil and little plants or grasses.


How to make a terrarium was modelled to demonstrate to children how to make their own 
self-managing gardens in a clear glass or plastic container.





After modelling how a Terrarium is made, the students quickly became motivated and engaged into making their very own terrariums in pairs, by re-using empty plastic bottles with a 
sealable bottle cap. Each bottle was cut in half to make it easier to work with and plant.



Gravel, pieces of twigs and charcoal was placed at the bottom of the plastic bottle to drain out extra water and prevent the plant roots from becoming waterlogged and rotting.


Thereafter students put in 3-4 handfuls of soil into the bottom half of their plastic bottle .



Then they planted a succulent leaf from a dancing lilly plant which grows in the classroom.
They also planted some grass to give the leaf some support.



Students took turns to add just half a cup of water to their bottled terrarium.



   
                                        

                  They pressed both the grass and the leaf firmly to anchor them in the soil. 


        Finally the top half of the plastic bottle was fitted and sealed tightly with clear                                                            sealing tape to make the container air tight.




When the re-usable bottled terrarium was completed, it was placed along with the other plants in the outdoor classroom's hothouse to grow as independent No-care Gardens.
We loved growing our own self-managing garden to sell to the public to make our idea pay. 
 "Buy a terrarium and enjoy watching how it grows in the privacy of your home."  
There are many benefits of having terrariums at home:-
Terrariums demonstrate how a mini Water Cycle works in nature. You can study the processes of Evaporation, Condensation, Precipitation and Collection all in a small bottled terrarium.
They make you aware of the importance of re-using and recycling materials to conserve and sustain our environment.
They teach young people the value of growing and caring for plants as primary food resources for both animals and humans. So let's care for our precious plants the way they care for our daily needs.



Monday 6 June 2016

Assembly Presentation "Make your idea pay!"

Here is our class assembly presentation in May

 We all sat on the stage to host our school assembly on 27 May 2016

 We put our assembly on a powerpoint slide presentation with images of our classmates. 
That was awesome.

Francois and Ayush were the hosts for our class assembly

Meliame and Khobi did the Current Events presentations

We interviewed a student on how to "Make your idea pay" and that was none other than 
Sahil Kumar with his hilarious 'Cinnamon Challenge' video. We laughed until our stomachs felt sore.

After the video we interviewed Sahil to find out how he makes his idea to pay real dollars.

Thereafter we sang our favourite song "Worlds Best".

Brandon and Lina presented the Sports Events.


It all ended on a fabulous note with Francois and Corteyziha wishing us an exciting weekend.