Children love learning about germination and growing seed with children, is a fantastic way to teach children how plants grow. They learn so much from lifecycles, to how roots grow. What parts of a plant are edible and how ecosystems work.
Germination is the process where seeds or spores, send out a sprout and begin to grow.
Teaching children to grow and learn what seedlings need, encourages them to care about the world around them and the living things in it.
Caring for seedlings also gives children a sense of responsibility. As they develop their skills they start to become more independence which helps increase their self-confidence too.
What are the 5 steps of germination?
• Firstly, water swells the seed.
• The water activates the chemicals inside the seed and encourages the seed into growth.
• The seed then grows a root so the seed can gain food and water from the soil.
• Then the seed grows a shoot that produce seed leaves that will reach to the sun for light and heat.
• The shoot then grows true plant leaves so it can absorb light and begin photosynthesis.
Try this seed activity with your kids:
- You will need:
- A glass jar
- Lots of paper towels
- Some fresh water
- Some seeds, we used broad beans and peas.
- Good seeds for this are beans, peas, pumpkin, courgette, or even flower seeds like calendula, nasturtiums. Try to use larger seeds so children can see them grow.
- Pushed scrunched up sheets of paper towels, into your glass jar.
- Once its full of paper, add some water to soak the paper, pour out any excess as you don’t want a puddle in the bottom.
- Top up with more paper towels so its crammed full so the when the seeds are pushed against the side, they stay in place.
- Pick your seeds and push them down the side of the glass jar and supported them with the wet paper towel.
Finally, Iabel each seed with a permanent marker on the outside so we can make observations.
Get your kids to keep an eye out over the next few days and draw out the changes they see. The root will grow first and then the leaves. Ask them to explain why this is. What other changes do they notice.
Try growing these Spring Egg Heads too
There is so much learning around this project. You could look at measuring the sprouts, or comparing colours. What seeds grow the quickest or the longest. Its a great activity for helping kids understand what goes on under the soil.
This activity is a great way to bring the outdoors inside, especially on horrible wet days and help get your kids excited for getting out in the garden.
What’s your favourite seeds to grow? Leave us a comment and let us know.
