We have been discussing how every one is different and how differences are what make us special.  A friend of mine gave me some coloured eggs from different breeds of chickens.  Some of these eggs were white, some were green, some were light brown and some were dark brown.  I used them to illustrate that although the colour of the egg shells were different, they were all the same on the inside.  The children and I discussed how people are like that.  We’re different on the outside but inside we’re all the same.  There is a beautiful children’s book by Mem Fox called “Whoever You Are” that reinforces this idea.  Bottom line…it doesn’t matter what colour of skin you have.  Don’t discriminate.  Be kind to others.

Today we went on a field trip to the Community Garden with the Pre-K class.  The children helped dig potatoes and carrots.  We got a few onions, a couple of wee pumpkins and a teeny, tiny squash.  The corn and beans were harvested a few days ago before the Racoons got them.  We’ll have lots of carrots for snacks and one day we’re going to have a feast!!

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We have been doing an experiment with tomato seeds to see how well they germinate.  The project is called Tomatosphere and it is sponsored by a number of different organizations including the Canadian Space Agency and Heinz Tomato Seed.  A few weeks ago our class received 2 packages of tomato seeds.  One of the packages contained seeds that had been up on the International Space Station for 5 weeks and the other package of seeds was the control group.  The packages were marked D and F but we were not told which seeds were which.  We planted 26 seeds from each package and kept them in separate trays labeled D and F and then waited to see how many of the seeds would germinate.  Group F won by a long shot!  26 seeds  in that group germinated while only 5 germinated in Group D.  When I submitted the results I immediately found out that Group F was the control group and Group D was the group that had been sent to space for 5 weeks.  Each of the children in the class received a certificate for taking part in the Tomatosphere project.  Now we get to continue to grow the tomato plants and enjoy the fruits of our labor!