Our Terrarium

We had the dirt.

We had the plants.

We had just about everything we needed.

But we weren't quite sure of the 'how'.

Our mission was to create a terrarium.

We decided to head off to the library and gather books about soil

 and the layers of the earth.

We wondered that if there was too much water in the soil what would happen to the roots. We needed a place for the extra water to go.

We searched through the books for a picture that could help us find out

"What is under the dirt?"

Some of the children talked about the grass, and the trees. 

We realized they were above the dirt.

Then we found the perfect picture!

It showed us the layers that were under dirt.

We needed rocks!

There's no better place than the wonderful world of kindergarten

 to find rocks!

The children gathered all sizes of rocks from the many natural materials throughout the room. We needed enough to fill the bottom of the terrarium.

Megan decided that shells were also necessary.

The next layer had to be something spongy. Mrs. Brent brought moss that she had gathered from her yard and garden.

The children felt the moss and noticed how soft and spongy it was. 

What else is spongy?

Why would we need something spongy in a terrarium?

We had a very interesting conversation!

Then, a third layer needed to be added.

Mrs. Pizzuto had brought in a bucket filled with dirt that she had gotten from her garden area that is filled with decaying wood and rich soil. 

This would be fantastic soil for the plants to grow in.

 

The final addition to our terrarium was plants.

We planted things called succulents. They have different kinds of leaves.

There are some called 'Chicks and Hens'. We still haven't figured out why they have this name!

When we pulled the 'Chicks and Hens' apart, we could feel the roots tearing away from each other.

The roots were very tiny and all twisted together.

They only needed to sit right atop the dirt and not in a deep hole. The roots are very tender.

Then Mrs. Brent used some gloves to pick up the next plant.

It was VERY PICKY!

Can you guess what the picky plant is?

It's called a 'Prickly Pear Cactus'. 

They keep water in their leaves!

Succulents can be left without water for a longer time because they store water in their leaves.

More plants have been added to our terrarium.

We learned that the best way to get a plant out of a pot is to hold the stems through your fingers then...

tap, tap, tap the bottom.

These plants couldn't just sit on top of the soil. 

They needed holes the same depth as the pot they came from.

We used some dirt to put around the base of the stems 

and gave a little press.

We were ever-so-careful to avoid the Prickly Pear Cactus!

Can you spot more cactus plants?

We are going to see all the exciting things that happen in a terrarium.

We might even see weather!