GEK - Week 2, Lesson 2

Week 2, Lesson 2

Today, we’re learning how your plants use the sun, air, and soil to make their own food!

The sun is a pretty incredible thing. The sun allows us to stay warm, go outside, and live! If we didn't have the sun, we wouldn't be able to live on Earth because it would be way too cold. Without the sun, it would be too cold for any plants, animals, and especially people. Even the coldest places on Earth (like Antarctica) still need the sun to survive. Not only would it be too cold for plants to survive, but plants need the sun to grow in general. Without the sun, plants are not able to grow because they cannot complete the process of photosynthesis.

Did you know that if we didn’t have plants, humans wouldn’t be able to breathe air? Plants create oxygen for creatures to breathe on earth, and humans create carbon dioxide for plants to grow!

Plants make their food through a process called photosynthesis, which is when they take light from the sun, carbon dioxide from the air, and water from the soil in your garden to create the nutrients they need. Did you know that photosynthesis happens in the leaves of your plants? When carbon dioxide, water, and the sun mix, they make glucose, the scientific word for sugar, which is the special food for your plants! Plants are called autotrophs, which means that a plant can create it’s own food. Pretty cool, right?

This week, start keeping a journal of your plants so that you can track their growth over the next few weeks. You can start your journal by measuring how big your plants are now! The best part of measuring your plants is that you can look back and see how far your plants have come!