How do non-green plants get their food for grade four kids?

Imagine you're a plant! You need food to grow big and strong, just like humans do. But unlike us, plants make their own food!

Green plants use a special trick called photosynthesis. They use sunlight, air, and water to create their own food, which is called sugar. They're like tiny little factories!

But some plants, like mushrooms, ferns, and some flowers, don't have that special green stuff called chlorophyll. They can't make their own food. They need to get their food from somewhere else.

These plants are called heterotrophs and they get their food by absorbing nutrients from dead plants and animals! It's like recycling! They break down these materials and use them to grow.

Here's a fun example: Imagine you drop a piece of bread on the ground. A few days later, you might see a mushroom growing near it. That mushroom is using the bread as food!

So, while green plants are like chefs making their own food, other plants are like scavengers, finding their food from things that are already dead. Both are important parts of the ecosystem!