Grow a Bean
Put a bean in a jar and watch it decide to become a plant.
2 weeks🔬 Science🔢 Math🧭 Life Skills
What you need
- a dried bean
- a clear jar or cup
- kitchen paper
- water
Nothing to buy and nothing to print — if you do not have one of these, swap it for whatever you do have.
The steps
Day 1
Set it up
Wet a piece of kitchen paper, push it round the inside of the jar, and tuck the bean between the paper and the glass so you can see it.
📷 Take a photo
Say this: “What do you think is going to happen in there?”
Day 2
Guess first
Before you look, ask them what they think has changed. Then look together.
Say this: “Guessing first is what scientists do. It is fine to be wrong.”
Day 3
First measure
Hold a finger next to the sprout. Is it shorter or longer than a finger?
🔢 Write the number down
Day 5
Draw it
Draw the bean exactly as it looks today. Not as a plant — as it actually is.
🎨 Draw it
Day 8
Measure again
Use the same finger. Longer than last time? By how many fingers?
🔢 Write the number down
Day 10
Tell the story
Tell someone who has not seen it what happened, from day one to today.
📷 Take a photo
Say this: “Start at the beginning. What did it look like on the first day?”
How to score it
You score this, not us. Pick the description that actually matches what they did.
Noticing
- 1. Looked when asked
- 2. Noticed one change
- 3. Noticed changes most days
- 4. Noticed changes and said what was different
Measuring
- 1. Did not measure
- 2. Measured once
- 3. Measured more than once
- 4. Measured the same way each time
Telling
- 1. One word
- 2. One sentence
- 3. Told it in order
- 4. Told it in order and said why
With more than one child
An older sibling keeps a written log and graphs the heights; the little one draws.
What goes in the portfolio
A photo strip of the bean on day 1, day 5 and day 10, with the heights said aloud and written down by the adult.