• Visit our Shop

True Aim

Faith, Family and Home Education

  • Home
  • Store
  • Faith
  • Family
    • Recipes
    • Parenting
    • frugal living
  • Homeschooling
    • Learning Activities
    • Character Development
    • Why Homeschooling
  • About
    • Contact
    • Link Party Directory
    • Sponsor/Advertise
    • FTC Disclosure

Plant Science: Edible Mini Garden

July 18, 2014 by Janine 2 Comments

When you are 6 years old it’s hard to see into the future.  Growing a big garden the first time can be discouraging when it takes such a long time to grow and taste the fruit of your labors.  That’s why a mini garden is the perfect solution for young children.  After just a couple weeks they’re able to see and taste the benefit of their work!

Plant Science Edible mini garden for kids

To add a little whimsy to our garden we pretended it was a forest and added some animals to it.  It was also a little experiment to see if we could get a seed to sprout on an animal.  Encourage other scientific hypotheses by asking your children questions about how long they think it will take for the seeds to start sprouting.

Edible Mini Garden Supplies

For our mini garden we used mustard seeds.  Other seeds that do well for sprouts are watercress, radish, pea, chick pea, mung beans, alfalfa, fenugreek, sunflower, lentil, and broccoli.  You can buy many of these seeds or dried lentils at the bulk food store.  Then we used a pie dish for our container and a paper towel to keep the seeds moist.  You can use anything you have around the house, but if your seeds are larger you will want to use more paper towels, cotton or something thicker to keep those seeds moist.

animals in edible garden for kids

After Audrey placed the animals the way she wanted them, she poured the seeds all around the dish.  Then she soaked the paper towel with water and put the dish in a sunny window.  good seeds for sprouts

Each day she checked to make sure the paper towel was moist and added water as needed.  We didn’t want to drowned the seeds, but just keep them moist.

plant science for kids making sprouts

We were amazed that after just one day you could see the seeds starting to sprout!  God’s creation really is amazing.  The sprouts were ready to try after only 11 days.  This would make a great science experiment for the children to draw their observations and note what is happening to the little seed.

sprouts in window

The result of our experiment on growing seeds on the animals was unsuccessful.  I asked Audrey why she thought it didn’t work and she knew right away that the seeds weren’t staying moist on the plastic surface.  They needed to be touching something wet so they could absorb the water.

sprouts for science experiment

We accidentally forgot about our sprouts one day and they dried out a little, but after giving them water they perked back up.  I’m sure if you remember to water them diligently they would be ready even sooner.  They only need to be 1-2 inches long and have a couple leaves on them.

plant science edible mini garden

I added the sprouts to our sandwiches that day to give them a little crunch.  The kids really liked them!   Have you ever grown your own sprouts?

For more learning activities for kids, like us on Facebook or follow us on Pinterest. 

Related Posts

  • 10+ Hands-on Science Experiments and Mom’s Library!10+ Hands-on Science Experiments and Mom’s Library!
  • 5 Fun Ways to Study Flowers with Your Kids5 Fun Ways to Study Flowers with Your Kids
  • Creation Story for Kids: Day 3 – the Land, Plants and SeasCreation Story for Kids: Day 3 – the Land, Plants and Seas
  • Earth Day Science: Bug Search ExperimentEarth Day Science: Bug Search Experiment

Filed Under: Gardening, Kid Science, Learning Activities, Science Tagged With: gardening, kid science, mini garden, plant science

About Janine

Janine LaTulippe is the Mother of 6 blessings. She believes that an elite education begins in the Home. Her sites www.BlueManorAcademy.com and www.TrueAimEducation.com provide curriculum, free resources, and inspiration for Homeschoolers!

« Develop Health Habits with the PURELL 30 Day Challenge!
How to Make Easy Lesson Plans »

Comments

  1. Joyce says

    July 18, 2014 at 7:42 pm

    This is a lovely idea! I am going to use it with the grandkids.
    Audrey is a beautiful little girl!
    Joyce recently posted…“Lookit The Cat!”My Profile

    Reply
  2. Candy Cook says

    September 12, 2014 at 7:54 am

    Wonderful idea!
    Candy Cook recently posted…Five Tips for Hiking with PreschoolersMy Profile

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts
Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on Google+Follow Us on TwitterFollow Us on InstagramFollow Us on PinterestFollow Us on YouTube

Search our site

  • Contact
  • About
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2019 · Bloom theme by Restored 316