The Persimmon Tree

As we mentioned previously, we are tracking our beloved Gingko trees on Potomac and the very popular persimmon tree in our outdoor classroom.   

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​The children are very familiar with the process that the persimmon tree will go through since they have been observing it for two years.  They know that the fruit is green (mostly) now, and it will transition to orange.  They also know that the persimmons will ripen and we will be able to eat them (e.g. Rainey Room did a bit of baking with them last year).  

When it is orange, we can pick them and then we make a smoothie - Janie 
Or we can make a pie out of them. - Elle
Or cake. - Lochie 
Or we can just eat them plain. - Maxon
Or we can make bread. - Nora 
How are we going to know when they’re ripe? 
When they’re orange. - Elle 

How are we tracking these persimmon transformations?

The children's ideas and knowledge have centered quite a bit on the color of the persimmons, the amount of time this progression (transformation) will take, how we observe the process, and what we can do with them.  

In one of our initial conversations on 9/27, they shared a few theories about how long it will take for the persimmons to ripen and fall: 

"They start small and grow bigger, and keep growing bigger until they're that size, and then wait, wait, wait, for a few years or more." - Giacomo 
"It keeps going in summer, and when it's not winter and fall, and then it stops and it stays that. You can't eat them. They keep growing, and you can eat them. Then they fall." - Sylvie 
"Maybe in a week or two the persimmons will be ready, and we can make something." - Nora 

How will we watch this transformation happen?

"We watch every time we come outside, and I think every day there is a little more orange." - Sylvie 
"When we go outside, but I don't know how we could watch them on the weekends." - C.C. 
"We could just get through those days, and then see how they change through the weekend, and then guess on the next day after." - Sylvie
"We can do a camera on them." - C.C. 
"We could make a camera." - Maxon 

Paying close attention to color

"I want to paint the persimmon." - Violet 

Two of the persimmons were intentionally picked (unripened) for observations in the classroom; this obviously allowing for more unclose inspection than the ones up in the tree.  There was quite a bit of discussion about the green colors, and the "tiny bit of orange" on the bottom.  

Before we mixed paint, we paused to think about what shade, tone, or tint of green we might need, and of course, what colors do we use to make green.  The color wheel was helpful in identifying a yellow-green shade that we were trying to achieve.

Janie, Violet, and Audrey knew that we needed to blue and yellow, "and white!" (Janie) in order to make green.  With each addition of these colors, we paused to see if it matched our persimmon. 

After a few tries, the children noticed that their green paints matched the top of the persimmon (the flower part), but not the bottom. So, we paused to make color swatches of our paints.  Then, we began the process of mixing again so that we could get a lighter green for the "bottom" of the persimmon.  

Their first mix.

Second mix after adding more yellow.

Third mix with more yellow added.

Our paint swatches from the colors that matched the top and bottom of the persimmon. 

Observational drawings

We've also been using observational drawings to pay attention to the details of the persimmon, particularly the color.  The children quickly noticed that the bottom had turned orange with a brown (maybe blue?) spot.  After some observation under the microscope, they determined that it was brown. 

Drawings Top Row L to R: Nora, Audrey's 2nd drawing, Marley, Violet's 3rd drawing

Bottom row L to R: Reed, Audrey's 1st drawing, Violet's 1st drawing, Audrey's 2nd drawing

There is much more to come! Stay tuned!

If  you have any feedback from our parent morning last Friday, please let us know! Is there something that your child shared with you about the classroom, or a specific area of the classroom that you might be willing to share?  

What have they been talking about at home regarding our work here in the classroom?  We always want to hear about the dialogue happening at home! 

​We hope that you all enjoyed it, and we look forward to planning other events like that one.