Four days ago we made some little rooting containers from plastic water bottle tops stuck onto lids to keep them stable. They work really well! We put a red onion in one positioned so the base was nearly touching the water.
Four days later and it looks like this!
Children of all ages will learn such a lot from just this simple activity but let them find out for themselves by observation and careful questioning. Get them to predict. To investigate. Suggest their own experiments. How far this goes depends on the developmental stage of the child but don’t underestimate. Children are capable of understanding and absorbing a lot more than we think!
Take photos or draw the vegetables at different stages. Take measurements of the shoot and the root and the girth of the onion bulb at the beginnng and every three or four days. Make charts to show the difference.
Compare the growth of the plant with our growth. What we need to grow. Where we get food from. Where does the food for the plant come from?
Ask questions and use the question words. What? Where? Why? How?
What’s happened to the water? The roots? The shoots? The onion bulb ?
Will this work with other veg.?
With pieces of veg?
What will happen if we root two of the same veg. but positioned differently.
Ask them to look carefully at the veg. first and to predict where the roots will grow.
Why do plants grow roots?
If you turn the onion/potato etc round what will happen to the roots? Try and see.
Why are roots white and shoots green?
Do shoots always grow up and roots down? How can we find out?
Why has the bulb shrunk?
Now try this!
Have fun!
Creative Learning for Young Children 