There was great excitement today at School as some of the children from 2nd, 3rd, and 4th class finally got to plant their sunflower seedlings outdoors with Susan. These little plants had been carefully grown from tiny seeds in the nurture room with Mr. Mac over the past few weeks — and now they were strong enough to go outside and continue growing in the fresh air and sunshine!
Rián and Amar from 4th Class, Amelia and Emily from 3rd Class, and Essa from 2nd Class all helped with planting and watering the sunflowers. There was lots of fun, laughter, and learning as the children gently placed their young plants into the soil, gave them plenty of water, and made sure they were in a sunny spot — because sunflowers absolutely love the sunshine!
Did you know? Sunflowers are called “sunflowers” because they naturally turn to face the sun as they grow — this is called heliotropism. They need plenty of light, warmth, and water to grow tall and strong. Some sunflowers can even grow over two metres tall — that’s taller than most adults! Their bright yellow petals attract bees, which help other plants grow too by spreading pollen.
Over the next few weeks, the children/caretaker Tony will be keeping a close eye on their sunflowers to see how they change and grow. There will be even more excitement when everyone returns to school in August to see how big and beautiful their sunflowers have become.
It was a wonderful day full of joy, teamwork, and learning — and we can’t wait to watch these sunny flowers bloom!
Kathy Cosgrave