Germination of Beans

The experiment with germination of seeds works great every time. Everybody does it and everybody loves it, adults and children alike. Even if you have done it before it is still worth doing it with your little ones. There is something magical about seeing the beginning of life.
There is tons of material about it. But I was using Handbook of Nature Study as an inspiration. There is a number of links there that you will find useful for this project. It is a wonderful blog for people who want to bring their little ones(and themselves as well) closer to nature. Take a look at it!
I also saw this experiment at The Wonder Years. I liked the idea of planting the seeds right next to the wall inside a clear glass jar so children could observe the development of the root system. Excellent!
Thank you both for sharing!
This is what Pumpkin and I have done with this experiment during the past week.
First of all, we found a glass container from our favorite strawberry jam and filled it up with organic soil that we had left from planting our herb garden. Then, we dropped 3 beans next to the wall so we could see how they germinate later on and poured a little of water. In the beginning we closed the jar with a lid to keep it moist all the time(we tend to forget to water our plants) and after the beans germinated and the sprouts started shooting up we left the jar open.
This is how it looked.









I also decided that it would be good experience for Pumpkin to start writing a journal. Yes, the very first journal! The advantages of it are numerous but my main reason was to let her practice writing. If your child is too small to write just let him/her draw pictures to document the experiment.
Pumpkin's journal was made out of red construction paper and simple filler paper. We made it by stapling it. I wrote the title of our experiment on the cover.

The very first page was our vocabulary, a list of words that we were using for our science experiment.

After that Pumpkin was writing down her observations day by day accompanied by a picture.

It was such a wonderful experience for both of us! And our beans are still growing tall and strong. I am thinking about transporting them outside.

Have fun germinating! ;)