Friday, November 20, 2015

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip)

This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from Homeschool Coffee Break helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you! 

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

When the kids were little, we went on field trips All.The.Time. As they got older, I found myself getting pickier about the field trips we did, because even a short tour somehow translated to an entire day away from home, so it really had to be worthwhile and related to their studies. (Okay, I started having the theme from Gilligan's Island play in my head when I was writing that. Something about a three-hour tour turning into a whole new life on a deserted island . . . )

But of course, high schoolers enjoy field trips too, and both of mine went along on Monday when I had a tour set up for our homeschool group at the greenhouse my hubby manages. We had a group of about 25 moms and students, and that included seven high schoolers.

The greenhouse is currently growing and shipping poinsettias, so that's what we learned about. We viewed the soil room and learned how the growing media is mixed, and that it actually doesn't contain any soil! It's a blend of peat moss and perlite, with lime added to adjust the pH level. (So we applied some chemistry knowledge there!) We were shown the machinery used to mix the soil and the specialized machines used for seeding and transplanting.

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

Most of our time was spent walking through the greenhouses, learning about poinsettias - their growing and flowering habits, how they are propagated and cared for in the greenhouse, and the many different varieties that have been developed. 

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

The greenhouse has several types of watering systems. One of the most interesting to the students was flooding. Most of the floors in the greenhouse are flood floors, and water can be allowed to come up through holes in the cement so the the plants can take in water through the bottom of the pots, and then the water is drained back into the pond. This is one of the ways plants can be watered without getting the leaves and blooms wet.

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

It's amazing how many different varieties of poinsettia there are! Lots of shades of red, and variations in the size and shape of the leaves and bracts. Pinks and whites are also grown.

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

This was the first time I'd seen this particular shade, which is actually quite orange, or perhaps I should call it scarlet.

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

Sometimes the poinsettias are sprayed with a special floral paint or glitter.

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

These have a marble pattern on the bracts.

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

And these are the whitest white poinsettias I've seen! Personally, I find the 'white' poinsettias usually look very faded, and I'm not that crazy about them, but these were so clean-looking.

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

And how about these? These are new as well - and yes, they are hot pink and a very bright green!

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

I'm not usually a fan of pink, but these are so eye-catching!

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

I hope you enjoyed the photo tour. We certainly enjoyed our tour, and are hoping to arrange another visit for our homeschool group sometime during the spring season.

From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip) on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com #homeschool #fieldtrip

Do your high schoolers enjoy field trips? Leave a comment and let me know!

This post is linked up at Chestnut Grove Academy's Friday Field Trip Blog Hop.

********************************
This post was added to the Throwback Thursday Blog-Style link-up hosted by Tots and Me... Growing Up Together! on Friday, November 25, 2016.

 Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to Homeschool Coffee Break by Email!

 ©2006-2015 Homeschool Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/

2 comments:

Nina said...

Such a wonderful greenhouse! Your children and all the other participants have had an unforgettable day together ... And these poinsettias - this is the most popular Christmas Flower here in Denmark and also in Finland - Thank you for the lovely photos, Kym!

Chestnut Grove Academy said...

What a fun holiday related field trip! Thanks for sharing at FTF, I pinned this post to my field trip board as well! Merry Christmas!!

Post a Comment

I love comments! It's like visiting over a virtual cup of coffee.