Does anyone have experience growing plants with their students?

[christine57]

Over the winter camp, I'm thinking about dedicating a day to plants and I thought it would be fun if the students could plant and grow their own plants as well.

Has anyone tried this before? I don't know much about growing plants (or keeping them alive for that matter) and I wonder if anyone has any suggestions as to which plant is good for kids, or anything else pertaining to the subject.

Thank you!

[jryanaustin]

Hm, I'm not sure, but that sounds like a good idea! I remember in second grade we grew lima beans in little bags with a wet paper towel. What's the Korean equivalent?

[christine57]

I'm not sure! That sounds fun, but do they even have lima beans in Korea?

[colinbro]

Use any beans, or seeds,

Use a glass jar with some wet paper towelling in a tube so that it rests against the sides of the jar. put the seeds between the paper and the glass. Put something else around it to keep out the light. Keep the towel moist.

The students can examine it every day, watching the roots and stem form, with the little baby leaves coming up and turning green when they hit the light. They can also record what happens with very simple language. A really good exercise which allows students to talk about past and present, sizes, shapes, change, color etc etc.

[sambalina]

You can grow succulent plants pretty easily. A new plant will grow from a planted leaf, and they are pretty low maintenance and hardy. However, you wouldn't be able to see them growing like the bean idea.

Another option is kumara/sweet potato. They make a really pretty plant, grow quickly, and grow in a jar so you can see all the roots form, etc. Here's a quick link: http://www.houseplantsforyou.com/how-to-grow-an-old-fashioned-sweet-potato-vine/

It's a cool idea - I might try it some time

[amandaellenr]

I'm not sure how easy they would be to find, but sweet pea flowers sprout pretty quickly. The safest bet is a bean of some sort and depending on the level a version of Jack and the Beanstalk might go over well.