Bean Growth Experiment and Documentation

We decided to do this experiment to find the answer to our question: Can a seed grow without soil? This question came up during our study of where plants grow. We talked about plants that grow in water, sand, on rocks, and even in snow. 

The first step was to make predictions. Each child voted whether they thought it would grow with no soil. Then we put a pinto bean in a ziplock bag wrapped in a wet paper towel and taped it to the window (April 17). We checked it every few days to see if it was growing. 

Our bean on April 20.

Here is what we wrote in our science journal.

Our bean on April 24.

Here is what we wrote in our science journal.

Our bean on April 26.

Our bean on April 27.

 Our bean on April 30.

We kind of got busy with another project and didn't have a chance to write in the science journal as much after the first 2 times, but here is the documentation board I made using the photos, children's drawings and our predictions from the first day.

Our conclusion: Yes, seeds can grow with no soil!

5/15 UPDATE: Thanks to the suggestion of one reader, I decided to talk to the kids today about why the plant can grow with no soil for a while and why it will need to be planted in soil to continue to grow after it uses all the nutrients from the seed. It went very well and the children seemed to understand. If it wasn't the last week of the school year, I would continue this experiment by planting one of the bean plants in soil and keep the other in the wet paper towel and have the students continue to observe. Oh well, there is always next year.

What kinds of experiments have you been doing?

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10 Plant Activities for Preschool

We just wrapped up our plant study that lasted about a month. Some of the topics we covered included: 

Where can plants grow?

What are the parts of a plant?

Does a plant need soil to grow?

What do you need to do to plant a garden?

Here is my original post about our garden center. We have done so much since then! Here are 10 of our favorite activities.

1. Tracking the growth of our plants.

The different seeds we planted included pinto beans, sunflowers, marigolds, and forget-me-nots. As you can see, some starting growing much faster than others. Each day the children looked to see if their plant was coming up yet and we made a list. 

Here is a closeup of what they looked like toward the end of the study when we sent them home.

2. Writing nature words.

3. Nature walk at our living habitat.

The children pointed out lots of things they saw growing. This was also one of the ways we investigated our study question: Where can plants grow?

They documented what they saw on mini clipboards.

We discussed different environments including wetlands.

4. We used the felt board to sort some laminated photos of plants growing in different types of habitats.

5. We talked about how fruits grow on plants and graphed our favorite one by writing names.

6. We did a chart of different questions relating to our previous experiences such as:

Have you ever made a bouquet of flowers?

Have you ever seen a plant growing in snow?

Have you ever been to a greenhouse?

Then we counted the amount of each answer to see which was the most and which was the least.

7. We filled our sensory table with water beads.

8. We filled our sensory table with sand and soil.

9. Gluing seeds in the center of a sunflower. I can't honestly take credit for this one, it's my nephew's artwork from preschool. But it is a great idea and if I would've seen this sooner, we would have done it as well. 

10. We read some great picture books about plants and gardens which you will definitely want to check out if you are doing a plant study.

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Garden Center in the Preschool Classroom

For the last couple of weeks, we have been turning our block area into a Garden Center. Here are some of the items we have added on the shelves. Most of it was donated by parents.

Of course, no plant study would be complete without actually planting seeds, so here are some photos of the kids planting. This was one of their favorite things. They love watching them each day to see if they've grown!

During planting, we asked the children lots of questions about what they were doing, what they think would happen to the seeds, what the seed would need, etc.

Here are some of the pictures the children drew as they observed their plants starting to grow. Yes, we do have a student named Daisy and one named Lilly :)

And we also took a nature walk around the school to see what types of plants we could find and make some more observations. Some of the children used clipboards to draw a picture of what they saw.

To incorporate math, we graphed our favorite flower using some pictures we found in a magazine. Each child wrote their name under the one the like best and explained why. Then we counted how many friends liked each and compared which had the most and which had the least.

 Here is a very rudimentary chart I made using real nature items I gathered up to show the life cycle of a dandelion as well as some other types of seeds. Sorry it is difficult to see with the tape reflecting light. It could have been a lot neater had I had more time to spend on it, but this still works.

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Spring Flowers Fine Motor Activity

Here is something I made up for L to work on his fine motor skills. I poked holes in a box. It's not pretty, but it works. You can decorate yours more if you wish, at least mine is green like grass.

 Next I made some flowers with pipe cleaners. Very basic, but I did have to change them a little. At first I tried to make leaves on them, but I figured out in order to make them a little more sturdy and easier for L to get them in the holes without them bending, I just bent the pipe cleaner in half and twisted it around itself over and over. 

That's it. Then you just poke the flower stems in the holes.

 Here are some photos of L playing with it.

There are lots of variations with this activity. You can make as many or as little flowers and holes as you want and put them farther apart or closer together. Whatever you think is right for your child. Have fun and happy Spring!

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