Sunday, 27 May 2012

cherry pickin’

Somewhat fortuitously, Luna brought a big bag full of juicy cherries to school on Tuesday, as her contribution to our not-quite-appropriately-called ‘bake sale’. 

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She was very accommodating when I suggested to her that it might be rather nice if maybe we ‘borrowed’ one or two.  With her approval, I picked enough so that we would have one each.  But (shh) don’t tell anyone.

First we observed (no easy task when it is a juicy cherry!) - we identified the part that had been attached to the tree and we spotted a tiny speck at the opposite side which we thought was probably where the flower once was. 

Most of us were able to say, quite rightly, that a cherry is a fruit - and of course this means that it should have a seed inside; because as we know, that’s what a fruit is – a seed ‘container’!

But would it?  That’s a good question Anusha.

To find out of course we will need to bite through the cherry (yum).  Carefully though…..

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because if there is a seed inside, it might be hard.

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Do you see there?  Yes, that’s the seed.

Poke it out for a closer look.

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And now we need one of these…..

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because inside the hard seed, is a soft kernel.  And the soft kernel is the part of the plant that sprouts into a new plant.  All being well.

One hefty well-aimed tap later…..

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and the soft kernel is revealed.  See?

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Now - can you label all the bits?  The kernel?  The stem?

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I wonder.  Do all hard seeds contain a soft kernel? 

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