Projects, seeds, and lots of glue

We just finished our 2nd full week of school. This past Friday we received a paper noting that there was a project due this coming Friday. Ok, that is nice. We aren't in school a month, and the projects are already starting. That is what happens in 3rd grade. It is hard, it is a pain, it is a lot of work. We have been through this before, and made it through, barely.
So, PJ comes home telling me that he has a seed project due this coming Friday and we have to collect seeds. What kind of seeds? All kinds of seeds. Edible, non edible fruit seeds, flower, edible tree seeds and non edible tree seeds. That was a lot! At least 3 of each from the above catagory.
This is not the time of year to collect edible or non edible tree seeds. The squirrels are collecting the nuts and acorns, pinecones or anything else that falls from the tree. So, finding stuff was hard.


I bought some fruit that we can eat, mango, pluot (plum/apricot cross... try them, delicious!), grapefruit, kiwi, and some veggies too. Tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden, zucchini.
The flower seeds were quite easy since we had the garden. So, teddy bear sunflower, vinca, mustard seed and peppercorn seeds (that was my idea!)
The edible tree seeds were rough too. Everything is falling to the ground, and you know, as soon as it hits, the squirrels and chipmunks gather up the goods. But I had some one give PJ a walnut still in the husk. Our neighbor donated the pinecone that contained pine nuts, and a pecan finished that catagory.
But now, where do you find the tree seeds. It has been dry and very hot. The leaves are starting to fall and finding seeds are difficult right now. But once again, PJ had some donations. Someone gave him the dogwood seed and a redbud seed. We had a tree come down close to the house, and it is still there. But I found a seed off of that.... hackberry, that was interesting, and of course the ever faithful maple.
Ok, so now we have everything, what do we do? Posterboard and lots of glue and one good writing sharpie. PJ had me take pics of the fruit and the veggies and ouf course someone had to eat it too. So I did that part for him.
He and I discussed how to lay them out. And let the gluing begin.
This is the unfinished project.
Rubber cement works wonders. The seeds ended up being in plastic so they would stay on the board. It is a wonder that he got everything on there. He wrote everything, listed all the catagories. Told me where everything went. He did a lot of the work, and I was proud of him.
So, we get this baby to school, and I take it in his classroom. There is another one already there. It was neatly written (by mom), and mostly everything was packaged food. Ok, that was their idea, and that explains why the poor kid is about 200 lbs.
I asked PJ when I got him on Friday how did his project go over. Well, he was the only one that had pics or the actual plant on his board. Very creative, very well listed. Neatly done.
OK, he should get an A +, at least I think that he should. But then again, who am I to be partial.
I am happy that he used his imagination. He took his time, he laid it out, he looked and moved, glued and wrote, taped and glued some more.


I see one of them has my creative gene! LOL