Now that the spring flowers are out and cherry blossoms have borne beautiful blooms, my son Jake and I decided to try planting something of our own. It has been a great way for us to talk about Earth Day and learn some science too.
Jake’s bean plant was about as simple as it could get. He stuck a dried Goya bean a half an inch deep into a few cups of soil. No flowerpot handy? Jake’s plant is living just fine in the red Sun-maid Raisin canister with some slits cut in the bottom for drainage.
We were able to watch the seed sprout AND watch the roots grow. Especially interesting since Jake and 2.5-year old Jenn are obsessed with finding sidewalks and bricks displaced by giant tree roots.
Here are some other planting projects to do at home:
- A planting project Jake did at school involved putting beans and a wet paper towel in a plastic bag– it’s a great germination experiment.
- And an oldie but a goodie – decorate a paper cup like a face, (we each drew ourselves), poke a hole in the bottom, fill it with dirt and plant some grass seed on top, or any seeds you can find. Of course, you realize what’s going to happen but your kids probably don’t: the grass (or chive or popcorn) sprouts will be the hair, like a Chia pet. At our house, everybody loved this, because grass hair is funny!
- Garden in a bucket: make a personal garden that a child can carry around
- Grow a sweet potato plant