Watch Our Bean Plant Grow Up Close

Spring is almost here, and we are getting excited! To get us ready for spring, Little BBQ picked out two books on gardening, How Groundhog’s Garden Grew by Lynne Cherry and Strega Nona’s Harvest by Tomie De Paola.  Both books were a lot of fun. Strega Nona’s Harvest focused more on sharing your harvest while How Groundhog’s Garden Grew focused on how seeds grew into plants.

 Being inspired by the groundhog book we decided to watch a bean plant grow using the method outlined in 101 Great Science Experiments by Neil Ardley. We checked on our bean plant daily and watered it as needed. One week after planting the bean, we had a little bean plant. We identified the parts of the plant. Then, to observe the plant closer we used a handheld microscope to view the different parts of the plant.

The leaf with a vein running through it:

The furry stem:

The slick root:

Once it gets warmer outside we plant to plant our bean plat outside, and if we get a harvest, we will share our harvest just like in Strega Nona’s Harvest. 

Materials to watch your bean plant grow modified from 101 Great Science Experiments p 60

1 paper towel

Water

1 dry bean

1 clear glass jar

Directions

1.       Wet the paper towel and squeeze out the excess water.

2.       Lay the glass jar on the side, and lay the bean about halfway down the glass jar. 

3.       Place the paper towel in the glass jar and along the backside of the bean. Mold the paper towel to the bean so that it provides support for the bean when you turn the jar back up right.

4.       Water the bean as needed when the paper towel gets dry. 

5.       Watch your bean plant grow!

6.       Identify the roots, stem, and leaves.