Well, on Friday, March 5 I walked my middle school students over to the greenhouse and cold frames. Outside it was probably close to 50 degrees and the sun was high and bright above us. We walked into the greenhouse and we were greeted with warm air and that earthly soil smell of spring. Considering we're studying electromagnetic energy in Science, I figured this would be a perfect activity for the kids: To experience the power of solar energy and try to understand how solar energy can be used to heat a space without the use of electricity or any other form of energy or expensive equipment. Upon walking into the greenhouse the kids were pretty surprised to feel how much warmer the air was compared to the air outside. "Why?" I asked them. It wasn't long before they had it all figured out. Having made the connection between how electromagnetic energy travels and the heat in the greenhouse, we got down on our hands and knees and peeked inside the cold frames. There the thermometer read 87 degrees! We put our faces near the frames and we could feel that warm air oozing out and we could smell the soil and the plants. Ahhhh, summer air!
When I opened my eyes , I peered into the garden bed underneath the cold frame, and there, to my utter delight were the first tiny sprouts of the onions planted back in February! I shrieked and my students jumped. They looked at each other and made that classic middle school "she's nuts" expression. I didn't care. I was so thrilled to see those first signs of new life after the winter! I hustled over to the other cold frame and pulled back the plastic. Warm, damp air rushed out to greet me and sure enough there were thousands of little tiny leaves poking their way through the soil. The experiment worked. The crop of spinach planted in early October of last year was dark green and ready to be picked and eaten for the second time, and the first crop of 2010 was up! Hooray! Now there's no doubt--spring is on it's way!
Bordeaux spinach planted in October of 2009 and ready to eat today!
Little tiny onion sproutsMy students stood back and watched me as I crawled on the ground examining each of the little plants that had sprouted. It took me a while, but finally I remembered why we were in the greenhouse to begin with. Science class. Right. I stood up and brushed the soil from my knees and brought the conversation back to solar energy. How could a person design a new house to take full advantage of that sun? We talked for a few moments about positioning the windows in a house so that they face the sun, allowing all of that energy to enter into the home and heat it up. This of course, is really free heat. "Is that how you're going to build your house?" one of the students asked me. You bet.
The majority of the windows in our new house will face southwest and those windows will envelope our living spaces--the dining room and living room. I can imagine myself laying back on the couch, sunbathing in January, all toasty warm in our little timber frame. On top of having southwest facing windows, we're using wood chip/clay infill for insulation, which will create foot-thick walls that will absorb the heat from the sun and release it after the sun sets at night, radiating heat all around us! Will we even need to use the wood stove? Probably , but not too much, which means less wood to cut, split, stack and carry in. Sounds good to me!
In my imagination our house is already built. I can already picture that sunny, bright space. Sometimes I will get carried away with my daydreams and I will believe that the house will be there when I go by next time. Someday it will be there. For now we're working away, one piece at a time. Jason finished cutting two principle posts and two common posts this weekend, and then he sanded and oiled the principle posts. I came in later on Sunday and sanded the two common posts. Right now he's out in the shop cutting more and more. Bit by bit we're getting there! I can't wait!
No comments:
Post a Comment