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Home Helpers 3 to 5 / Week 06 / Monday
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Week 06 · Plants and Pets

Monday

Check, then water
// Living things count on you every day
⏱ about 15 min

Monday: Check, then water

Chris the Coyote trots past a droopy plant by the den door. "Somebody forgot this one," he calls, and keeps going.

Lizzy the Lizard climbs the pot and pokes one toe into the soil. "Dry as a cracker. But look at the fern. Its soil is still damp."

She hops down. "Plants cannot say I am thirsty. So we check first, then water. Not every plant, not every day."

Lizzy checks a seedling in a paper cup with her magnifying glass. A pet water bowl sits nearby.

Why check first

Too little water makes a plant droop. Too much water can hurt it too.

Watering by the calendar alone can miss both problems. Checking the soil catches them.

The soil is the dirt the plant grows in. It tells you what the plant needs.

The finger test

  1. Wash your hands. Poke one finger into the soil, down to your first knuckle.
  2. Dry and crumbly? The plant wants water.
  3. Cool and damp? Wait. Check again tomorrow.
  4. Wash your hands again when you finish.

Watering the right way

  1. Fill a small cup or watering can with room temperature water.
  2. Pour slowly onto the soil, not onto the leaves.
  3. Stop when water starts to drip out the bottom holes.
  4. Empty the saucer after ten minutes so the roots do not sit in water.
  5. Wipe up any drips on the floor or table.
Safety first
Wash hands before and after touching soil.
Ask a grown-up before touching any plant. Some plants are not for touching.
Wipe water drips right away so no one slips.
WATERING CHOICES
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
The soil is cool and damp. What do you do?
Where does the water go?
When do you stop pouring?
PUT THE PLANT CHECK IN ORDER.
  • ?Empty the saucer and wipe drips
  • ?Poke a finger into the soil
  • ?Water slowly onto the soil if needed
  • ?Decide: dry means water, damp means wait
  • ?Wash your hands
WHY THIS EXERCISEChecking before watering is the whole idea. Pouring without checking is a guess.

A watering schedule

A schedule is a list of what to do and which day. For plants, the schedule says when to check.

Lizzy checks every plant on Monday and Thursday. She only waters the ones that are dry.

PlantCheck daysLast watered
Door plantMon, ThuWrite the date
FernMon, ThuWrite the date
Window herbMon, ThuWrite the date
What do you poke into the soil to test it?
Dry soil means the plant wants what?
What do you empty ten minutes after watering?
StatementTrue or false?
Every plant needs water every day.?
You pour water onto the soil, not the leaves.?
Roots should sit in a full saucer all day.?
Washing hands comes before and after touching soil.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEA plant helper checks, waters carefully and cleans up.
On which two days does Lizzy check her plants?
WHY THIS EXERCISETwo check days a week is easy to remember and catches most dry soil.
Try it
With a grown-up, pick one plant at home. Do the finger test.
Write today's date on a card. Is it dry or damp?

Checked and watered! Tomorrow Lizzy plants a seed in a cup and starts a log.