Grow Sprouts from Dried Beans
With this activity, children can see day by day that living things grow — but it takes time and we have to wait! Usually things grow so slowly we can’t see them growing – like ourselves- but with this activity we can see how something grows each day. As Mister Rogers sang “You’re bigger than you were a day ago.”
Related to Episode 109 / Strategy Song
Look closely to find out.
Materials
Directions
Soak the dried beans overnight in some water. This will make the beans grow faster.
Line a jar with damp paper towels.
Place 3 or 4 dried beans between the towels and the jar so you can see them through the sides of the glass.
Keep the paper towels damp by adding a little bit of water to the bottom of the jar each day as needed.
Check the seeds from time to time for signs of growth.
Within a week, the beans should sprout and start to grow. Eventually, leaves will begin to grow on the stem. Your child could make a chart to graph the height of the stem.
If it’s spring or summer, your child could plant the sprouts outdoors when the plants are about 2 inches tall. Your child can watch for changes that take place outside -- more leaves, blossoms, and tiny beans. If they beans grow large enough, your child can open one and look at the new bean seeds inside.
Math
Science