This was a homeschool favorite for the children this year! We learned and discussed germination. The lesson was in addition to, but complimented, our everyday math, literacy and science core work. It lasted us two weeks and included two projects. Lima beans in bags and sprout houses. If you don't have any of the materials listed, no worries! You can click on the materials to see where I got mine from!
We also used lots of free printable resources for our activities that I will link down below, as well as links to where I purchased my materials. But first, I want to start with the projects! I love project based learning.
Lima Beans in a Bag
This one is simple and its very popular
Materials
Paper Towel
Water
Dry Lima Beans
Sharpie (or any dark marker)
Magnifying Glass (optional, Melissa and Doug set, Older kid set)
Instructions
Fold and wet a paper towel.
Insert the wet, folded paper towel into a ziplock bag
Place two seeds in the bag on the paper towel
Tape to a window, leaving the bag open and watch the magic happen!
Tips
*Before beginning the activity, we used magnifying glasses to study, label, and observe them.
*As the seeds sprouted I was able to test the children's knowledge by letting them label the parts of the growing seed.
*Make sure your little ones have clean hands! I highly recommend washing hands before starting. My toddler had a snack just before starting. Having dirty hands and handling the seed encourages mold to grow on your seeds!
*Plant many seeds! All seeds may not grow. Each of my little ones planted two seeds in their bag. We had only 2 of the 6 seeds sprout. So, I definitely suggest planting multiple seeds and even letting each child do more than one seed so they all have a better chance of one of theirs growing.
Sprout Houses
This is one that is new to me and so I just kind of winged it. Our sprout houses are finally sprouting now so I feel comfortable enough in my method to share.
Materials
Sponges (I recommend multi-colored)
Water
Toothpicks
Scissors
Plate (we used Styrofoam plates)
Instructions
Children will use the sponges to create their houses. They can use scissors to cut sponges into the size they need. Toothpicks are used to hold the sprout houses in place and steady.
Once the sprout houses are constructed, use hot glue to give it additional sturdiness.
Place the sprout houses on a plate and pour water over them wetting the sponges.
Start adding the seeds to the sprout house. There is no wrong or right way to do this. The wet sponges helped the small chai seeds stick so we just rubbed them on. The wheat grass seeds were larger so we placed those on flat areas of the sprout houses. As a reminder, just like with the lima beans, all seeds may not sprout. So, don't be afraid to let your children add lots of seeds!
Move the sprout houses to an area that gets some sun light, water the sponges often enough so they don't get dry, and watch them grow!
Free Resources
As we waited for the seeds to grow we used these different education resources for free printable books and activities related to germination.
Printable Workbook: Parts of a Plant
Printable Book: How Does My Garden Grow
Printable Workbook: Plant Lifecycle
Printable Workbook: Plant Life Cycle (this one was 84 pages! Great resource so I picked the ones that were most relevant to us. They also have activities to serve children of various ages, from preschool to early elementary).