Learning Goal: I can learn more about the role birds and bugs play in the growing of food.

First, let’s recap what we’ve done this week in science:

• Monday – we explored what fruits and vegetables we knew by using origami, drawings or cutouts to make a fruits and vegetables display.
• Tuesday – we started experimenting with regrowing vegetables from scraps and offcuts.
• Wednesday – we looked at pollen and flowering plants.

Now, we are going to explore the importance of birds and bugs in the growing of plants. Did you know:

• Bees, Wasps, Ladybugs, Beetles, Bats, Butterflies, Flies, and Moths are needed for to help grow at least one third of crops human grow for food. By visiting flowers in search of food (nectar and pollen), they pollinate other plans they visit. (Read more https://kidsgrowingstrong.org/pollinators/)
• Not all bugs are good. Birds are a natural way to control pests in our gardens, they eat insects.
• Some birds also do the job usually done by bees. They also take pollen from flower to flower.
• Birds also good at spreading seeds. They eat berries and fruits, and then drop the seeds when they “dispose of” their waste. Bird droppings makes a good fertilizer. Seeds in the bird droppings have an added nutrient source (food for plants) from the droppings.

Next, add to your fruits and vegetables display you made on Monday by creating some birds and bugs to go with it.

• This video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lUAN-5ntvA) has some ideas to get you started
• Or you can draw, and colour different types of birds and bugs
• Or you can cut out pictures from magazines and newspapers (don’t forget to ask for permission first)

Then, share images of your creations with your classroom teacher.

Finally, take some time to check how your vegetables from scraps regrowing is going.

Don’t forget, if you didn’t get to any of the science activities from this week they are still there. You may want to have some fun with them this weekend if you have some spare time. Also check out the MPPS Science blog for more news, information, cool clips and family activities based around this year’s theme. You will also find news, information, cool clips and family activities from last year’s theme The Ocean.