The students at the Allen County Primary Center will have the opportunity to watch plant growth take place during the final six weeks of the school year thanks in part to a local farm. Monday, over 900 students in kindergarten through third grade at the Primary Center were given the chance to begin to grow their own flower, fruit, vegetable, or plant.
“Mr. Chuck Bennett has brought us a variety of materials to help us grow our own plants,” Primary Center science educator Tabbatha Elmore explained to her students at the school. “Mr. Bennett has brought each one of you your own pot, soil, and a plant or seeds for you to choose.”
Bennett---the owner of Bennett Family Farms in Allen County---built upon an idea Elmore had for her students.
“Mrs. Elmore was talking about starting a flower garden,” Bennett explained. “So I offered to bring about 950 pots for each student and the dirt. I also have flowers, all kinds of peppers and tomatoes, and I have all-kinds of seeds. The students will fill the pot themselves, choose what they want to grow, and then plant their choice. They will keep it here at school, learn about it, and then take it home in May when school is out.”
Elmore will use the opportunity as a hands-on framework for a unit on plant life and growth.
“We will get into the unit as we go and talk more about the soil, watering, and taking care of the plant,” Elmore added.
The students will keep their pots in their classrooms at school and be responsible to water and care for their plant until the end of the school year.