Hi Second Graders!
Ms. Maggie here. I hope you are all doing well. Since we won't get to go out on our third tree-themed field trip to the Rivendell Trail and forest classroom this spring, I thought I'd bring the field trip to you!
On our trip, we would have learned about tree buds, and what happens when trees come out of their "dormant" time in the winter. Dormant means inactive, kind of like the trees are asleep.
In spring, as trees begin to thaw out after their long winter's rest, their sap begins to run. We learned about this on the last day of school, when Samuel Morey visited Westshire, and we tapped some maple trees and saw the sap come out. We tap maple trees and use their sap to make maple syrup, but all trees have sap. It's just not as delicious as maple tree sap, so we don't usually tap and collect sap from other kinds of trees.
You might be wondering what sap IS? Why do trees have it? You can think of sap as tree blood. Just like our blood carries nutrients that we eat around our body to give us energy, tree sap carries nutrients (nutrients are substances needed for healthy growth-for us that comes from the food we eat, for trees this comes from the soil) and water to all parts of the tree.
As the sap begins to run in the spring and brings water and nutrients around the tree again, tiny leaves that have been wrapped up tight inside buds on tree branches begin to grow. As the leaves get bigger, they cause the buds to start to swell, and eventually they burst and the leaves begin to pop out.
Yesterday I walked around my yard and looked for buds. I found beech buds and some maple buds. Can you tell which is which?
I also found a tree that had something on it that LOOKS like buds, but are actually flowers. Willows make fuzzy flowers that show up on the tree before the leaves come out. These are called catkins. I remember that word because the catkins look like tiny balled up kittens! When I was in second grade like you are now, one of my favorite signs of spring was the arrival of the catkins!
Now it's time for your optional family field trip! Go out near your house and look for buds, and learn more about bud burst by doing this fun family activity from Project Learning Tree called Bursting Buds! If you do it, I hope you will comment and let me know what you found, or post some photos of your adventures!
I miss seeing you at school and can't wait to see you all next year!
Ms. Maggie
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