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Growing Tomatoes Indoors
Montessori Johnsonville is a 2 storied converted house. One of our classrooms is upstairs and as the children are unable to access the outdoors whenever they like, we need to bring the outside to them. This month we have a large cherry tomato tree in the classroom. The classroom is north facing with full windows so gets lots of light and warmth - almost like a greenhouse. Perfect for growing tomatoes.
The only problem is that tomatoes are pollinated by bees and we don't get them inside. To alleviate the problem, the children need to be the bees. Choosing a tray off our practical life shelf, the child puts the beekeepers hat on, the bee glasses, and then carefully brushes the stamens of the flower with a toothbrush. They then brush the next flower. We also need to trim the decaying leaves at the bottom before giving it a drink of water. It's a great learning experience. After very careful pollination the tomatoes are now ready to pick and eat. The children love choosing the very ripest red ones and then cutting them in half to share with their friends for morning tea.
A healthy snack is very important to us at Montessori Johnsonville - especially as we are part of the Healthy Heart programme.