
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, October 18, 1994                   TAG: 9410180104
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

CHILDREN PUT THEIR TRUST IN BULBS

On a sunny, warm Monday in October, the children dug their trowels and fingers into the moist soil, placed the daffodil and tulip bulbs in the holes, sprinkled bone meal over them and gently covered them with dirt.

They got on their knees, crowded against each other and dug eagerly. For many, it was the first time they ever had planted flowers. Some said they had helped their mothers plant bulbs.

Now they must wait until spring to see if their flowers will blossom.

For nearly 100 first-graders at Penn Forest Elementary School in Roanoke County, it was an opportunity to have fun and learn more about flowers and beautification.

Each child planted two flower bulbs, collected trash and swept the sidewalks around the school.

Teacher Nancy Carson said the flower planting and cleanup provided lessons for the children.

"It helped them see that beautification doesn't happen just by osmosis," Carson said. "And it helped them better understand recycling by picking up cans and debris that can be recycled."

The project also helped them understand biology and provided a sense of ownership, Carson said.

The teachers explained to each group of children that the bulbs will grow roots during the winter and sprout next spring.

Moses Moore never had planted flowers before, but he liked it, he said.

Bobby Lawrence once helped plant flowers at his grandmother's house, but he still enjoyed working with the other first-graders.

There are four classes of first-graders. Each class did one thing at a time and then rotated to the next task.

The children brought money from home to pay for the bulbs. Twenty-two parents prepared flower beds during the weekend.

Not every child was enthralled with the flowers, however. Other attractions were even more alluring for some.

Claire Brown was sitting down with her hands cupped. Asked if she was going to help plant, she said no and explained she had caught a grasshopper.

"I don't want to let it go. I want to keep it," she said.

by CNB