With this activity, children can see day by day that living things grow.

Materials:

• Potting Soil
• Stones
• Seeds
• Small plant pots or paper cups
• Water (small pitcher)
• A plant mister (or clean spray bottle with water)

Directions:

Do this activity outside, if possible, with plant pots or paper cups. You might want to talk with the children about what they think will happen when they put the seeds into a cup of potting soil. How long do they think it will take for the seed to sprout? How long before they see leaves?

Give each child a small plant container, several stones for drainage on the bottom if you like, some potting soil, and two or three bean seeds (in case one doesn't sprout). If possible, you could let the children take their own soil from the bag and spoon it into their cups. When all the seeds have been planted, you could use a mister to moisten the soil, or help the children water the seeds carefully using a small pitcher.

Talk about how real plants grow very slowly from the ground up. Crouch down and pretend to be a growing plant, from the ground. Encourage the children to pretend with you and see how small they can make themselves. Then encourage the children to slowly stand and stretch to the sky. As the children pretend, ask questions such as: What do plants need to grow? Do people need some of the same things as plants to grow? Which things?

After pretending, talk with the children about the important things people need to grow, both inside and out, such as food, exercise, sleep, play, work, and most importantly, love.

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