For the past several years we have created a garden,
in our classroom,
just to observe snails.
We start with soil in a plastic container with a lid.
The children spend a morning spraying water on the soil
to make it damp.
Next we sprinkle wheat grass seeds all over,
and spray more water on it.
We put the lid on the container (to act like an incubator) and within
two days the seeds
begin to sprout.
After 4 or 5 days the grass has grown
and we spend some time cutting it with scissors.
Finally the garden is ready to welcome some snails.
I found three on my front door step.
It doesn't take the snails long to begin to investigate their new home.
When we are not observing the snails we cover the container
with window screening and use yarn to tie it down.
Even then it's great to watch how they move
across the screen and leave their slime trail behind.
As the snails settle in I move the container to another location
so I could post information about the snails.
We feed them fruits and vegetables to see what they like the most.
They didn't really like apples or watermelon
but really like cucumbers.
Everyday we spray the garden with water to keep it moist.
We keep a close eye on them because they like to escape.
Tomorrow is our last day of StrongStart so we will take the garden outside
and re-locate the snails.
