🌱 Plant Care Guide
Aratohu Tiaki Rākau

💧 Water (Wai)

Do not water on a schedule — water on evidence. Push a finger into the soil to the first knuckle: if it comes out dry, water until it runs out the bottom; if it comes out damp, leave it and check again tomorrow. Overwatering kills more classroom plants than forgetting does, because roots sitting in water cannot take in air.

How often? _________________

☀️ Sun (Rā)

Most plants need sunlight. Put your plant where it can get some sun, but not too much hot sun.

Where is my plant? _________________

🌿 Check Your Plant

Look at your plant every few days. Is it growing? Are the leaves green? Does it look healthy?

Today my plant looks: _________________

📝 My Plant Diary

Date planted: _________________

What I planted: _________________

Measure on the same day each week, so the numbers can be compared. Height from the soil to the highest point, in centimetres.

Week	Date	Height (cm)	Number of leaves	What I did for it this week
1
2
3
4

My claim: Over four weeks my plant ______________________________ (grew / stayed the same / went backwards).

My evidence: ______________________________________________

One thing I am not sure about: ____________________________

✅ How this is marked — kaiako and ākonga

There is no right answer for how tall the plant got. It is marked on the record, not the plant:

• Beginning: some boxes filled in, measurements taken on different days or with no units.
• Developing: all four weeks measured the same way, with dates.
• Proficient: all four weeks measured the same way, plus a claim that matches the numbers.
• Advanced: all of the above, plus one honest thing they are unsure about — a week they forgot, a plant that got knocked, a measurement they doubt.

Common trap: a plant that dies is not a fail. An ākonga who recorded four honest weeks and can say what went wrong has done the task better than one whose plant thrived on no record at all.