quinta-feira, 23 de outubro de 2008

Green Hour challenge 5

So we recently returned from Finland and are now back with the Green Hour challenge. Before we left Brazil in the end of April we had done four challenges and focused on the little river that runs behind our block. For this challenge we did another walk to see the river and afterwards talked about the things we'd seen.

Luana drew a picture of our walk and included a chicken and another bird as well as us three walking. We then sat down and made a list of all the different fruit trees that grow either on our backyard or nearby. This went nicely together with our Bible study of the creation - we also talked about how God created everything including the fruit trees.

So we have on our backyard:
Papaya, Carica papaya
Acerola, Malpighia emarginata (even 100 times more vitamin C than in oranges!)
Lime, Citrus x limon
Guava, Psidium guajava (also more vitamin C than oranges!)
Manioc, Manihot esculenta (Luana wanted to include this although it's not a fruit as we have some growing on our backyard)

And nearby:
Coconut, Cocos nucifera
Jambo, Syzygium jambolana
Carambola, Averrhoa carambola
Cashew, Anacardium occidentale (this is actually an accessory fruit the real fruit being the cashew nut)

Our focus has been the river and I actually thought we'd do more things regarding that but I see that the topic is so huge that it'll probably continue on the background and we can return to it whenever we feel like it. At the same time we'll get a new theme and carry on with the challenges. The first challenges have been really good in the sense that they have got us out of the house exploring our neighbourhood with a purpose. I was looking at the coming topics and garden flowers will suit us nicely as I just discovered that we actually have some flowers in our garden! :) There used to be just green but now there are flowers too!

This particular challenge was such an enlightening experience for me personally. The kids are so small that they don't care about the Latin names of the fruit trees or whether something is really rich in vitamin C but I found the little research I did most interesting! I also see that I have to find some good websites concerning tropical plants. Books are quite hard to get hold of over here but I might even try to buy a book about tropical plants.

Looking forward to collecting things for the next challenge!

3 comentários:

Barb disse...

I was really interested to read your list of trees that you have right in your backyard! Wow, great subjects for future study!

I am so glad that you are posting your nature study time again. I love hearing about your world in Brazil.

Thanks for the link,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

dawn klinge disse...

All those wonderful trees you have in your yard sound so exotic to me...I'm looking forward to reading more about your nature studies.

Anônimo disse...

I especially envy you for having those coconut trees.....niitä kun ei kasva täälläpäin..