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Over the last week we’ve been observing beans! Sounds thrilling, I know, but it has been so fun to watch my kid’s amazement as these little beans have transformed and grown. They are totally in awe. Learning about the plant life cycle and the needs of plants might be one of my favorite little experiments we’ve done so far.
It all began with our Masterbooks curriculum again (just as it did with our heart anatomy lesson). We have just loved how the math lessons have pointed us to God’s creation. As we are learning to count by tens, we are also learning how to observe and record the growth of our little beans.
To do this experiment all you’ll need is a jar, beans, and paper towels.
The experiment itself was quite easy, although I’m pretty sure we didn’t use your average preschool-bean-sprouting-activity beans. I sent my husband to our local whole foods store and he returned with three bags. He brought us Adzuki beans, soy beans, and mung beans, so we decided to sprout all three and compare!
I found these mason jar lookalikes in the Target dollar section, but here are pretty much the same jars (since the dollar section can be hit or miss). They’re actually plastic, which I appreciated, since I knew my littles would want to hold and observe up close. Again, ours weren’t the standard bean choices (I think most people use a lima bean). I think it was fun to be creative with this though! Getting different shapes and sizes of beans adds interest.
Simply stuff the jars full of paper towels and pour in water until they are just damp. Make sure to pour out any excess water. Then place your beans along the inside edge of the jar, put the jar in a sunny spot, and watch the magic happen. The added benefit of using multiple kinds of beans was that they sprouted at different times. The mung beans sprouted after two days, the soy bean after three, and the adzuki bean took nearly the whole week. A nice little lesson on being patient.
To expand on our plant life cycle lesson a bit, I wanted to create a helpful visual chart.
My Plant & Grow activity was a perfect addition to our experiment and was also helpful in introducing vocabulary, practicing spelling, and working on penmanship as Squeaks traced over the words. It sparked fun conversation too. Once Squeaks learned that plants create the air we breathe, she made it her mission to find out all the other ways plants help us as food, shelter, and even clothes.
Discussing the pattern of the plant life cycle also led to talking about how plants create more seeds, and how those seeds might be spread. We discussed pollination, fertilization, and how animals spread seeds through digestion (that was a fun one).
Get your Plant & Grow Activity here!
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As an added bonus, we also turned this into a Bible lesson.
Along with the plant life cycle and plant needs, this helpful chart also serves as a reminder of God’s wonderful creation and power. At the bottom of the page is Genesis 1:11 “Then God said, ‘Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.’ And it was so.” This was a great segue into the creation story, and talking about what kinds of plants bear fruit we can eat.
We were also able to have a little lesson on how well God provides for us. Since we had so many left over beans so I created a simple bird coloring page with Luke 12:6 “ Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.” We practiced gluing the beans to the page as seeds, and It was so sweet to talk about how birds eat and spread seeds, and how God provides for them. Feel free to download this simple page from my Free Printables Library!
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I’m sure we will come back to this lesson many times as my younger kiddos grow. It’s such a wonderful jumping off point for so many topics. Watching my kids enjoy the process and marvel at God’s creation will never get old.
Do you ever have one topic lead to another? What has been your favorite way to study God’s creation?
Learning about the water cycle is a natural complimentary lesson.
We had fun discussing the phases of the water cycle using my one of my newest activities. Just add my beloved velcro dots to the laminated game to keep the hand drawn pieces in place. It also comes with a great description of each phase to build vocabulary.
Plus it’s always fun to hear Squeaks try and say “precipitation”, especially since she just lost her two front teeth!
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