Getting the Garden Going

GETTING GROWING: Though heavy rain and not-so-warm weather has been the norm as of late, we are optimistic that we will actually have a summer this year. With that in mind, we got a little herb garden growing this morning.

It came as a cute little kit we bought at Lowe's. Called "Growums," the "Pizza Garden" kit included basil, peppers, roma tomato and oregano seeds. There weren't planting instructions, so we hopped on their website, http://growums.com/ where we registered our kit.

The Web site had a video about how to plant the seeds. The kit has a growing tray with eight 'pellets' in it to which we added water. Boy, did they swell up! Then, as directed, the kids put three seeds in each pellet, about a finger tip deep.

After planting, the kids spent some more time on the Growums site playing games. Apparently we'll be receiving a weekly email about our garden, and we can track it online. I think we'll also be tracking it right here on our kitchen counter.

IMMIGRANTS' ISLAND: This morning, we took a virtual field trip all the way across the country to New York's Ellis Island via the Scholastic Web site. (The tour was actually live yesterday morning, but we couldn't participate then due to the kids' music class.) Before we tuned in, I asked the kids if they knew a) what immigration is and b) what significance Ellis Island has. Since they didn't have answers for either, apparently our field trip was definitely overdue.

Today, they learned that between 1892 and 1954, more than 12 million immigrants made their first stop in America at the Ellis Island Immigration Station. And, according to Scholastic, more than 40 percent of Americans can trace their family history back to Ellis Island.

The field trip consisted largely of a host interviewing Ellis Island park rangers. CJ and Annabelle paid attention, but I wouldn't call them 'rapt'. After the 30-minute video, they explored Scholastic's other Ellis Island-related features, including an interactive tour. The kids seemed to enjoy the interactive tour more than the video tour. The interactive tour had featured stories told by people who came through Ellis Island, historical photographs and video, facts and more.

The site also has a feature about young, recent immigrants, as well as immigration data.

PEEPERS: We took a second virtual field trip today, this time Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was our destination. It's home to the Just Born factory. The manufacturer's name may not ring a bell, but I'll bet y'all know their signature product - Peeps! The tour was brought to us by a PBS program, 'America Revealed."

JUST DANCE!: This afternoon we made our way to a Red Box where we found Just Dance 3 for the Wii. Once we had it home, the party started. I think Annabelle danced for 90 minutes, which is great. CJ was enthusiastic for about 20 minutes. It was loads of fun and good exercise. We might have to break down and buy the game.  

WORM SQUIRM: For science class, the kids are supposed to keep an observation diary associated with their meal worms. And so, today (and every day) we remember to check in on them. They were hiding in their little containers. The kids used paintbrushes to reveal them for a look-see.