The Celery Wars

Sam and I had a heartening conversation today. All learning was not lost in the tumultuous Celery Wars. I found Sam studying the celery thoughtfully. "I guess plants need some sunlight to live."

Of course, Gracie is gleeful none-the-less. This is her laughing in pure ecstasy over winning! I guess she loves finally winning. It's tough when your big brother is faster, stronger and can do so many things well. It's also good for Sam to learn to handle not being the first or best. This is an area that Richard and I are often working on with him. We often need to remind him that he doesn't have to do things perfectly--sometimes it is just time to practice.

Celery, Sunlight and Colored Water

This past week we discussed how plants make food using sunlight. We mixed food coloring into two jars of water. We placed celery into the jars and put one into a dark corner with a fan blowing on it for about 48 hours. The other we put into the sunshine for the same amount of time. Little did I know that it was a competition! That thought didn't even cross my mind, but apparently my children had noted which had mixed each color and placed celery into "their" jars. When we brought out the celery to be observed, Sam began whimpering that Gracie won. I was puzzled! I didn't know what he was talking about. I finally figured out that they each thought the blue was Gracie's because she mixed it and the red was Sam's because he mixed that color. The blue celery was thriving--it had been placed in the sunshine. The red celery was bedraggled and withered with barely any color to the leaves. Of course, it had been exposed to drying conditions and no light. The science of the whole thing was lost. Except for Gracie's delight in experimenting with using a magnifying glass--while she reveled in her victory over her big brother!