Activity: How Plants Grow

Learn about and care for plants.

Help the children plant seeds or seedlings in individual containers (cups or empty cans work well) that they can take home. If possible, choose a plant that sprouts and grows quickly, such as beans or wildflowers.

• Talk about how much sun, water, and nutrients the plants need.
• Invite the children to keep track of how much water they give the plant each day, how many hours of sunlight the plant receives, and how the plant responds over the next month. (Does the plant sprout, wilt, or grow toward the sunlight?)

Follow up with the children at a later activity to find out what they learned and how well their plants grew.

Please adapt activities as necessary to ensure all individuals are able to participate, belong, and contribute.

• Visit a farmer’s market, community garden, fruit orchard, or grocery story to learn about where fruits and vegetables are grown, harvested, and sold.
• Service idea: Invite the children to help plant and care for a vegetable garden at the home of one of the children or leaders. If possible, plant a variety of vegetables so the children can compare and contrast them over the growing season. At the end of the season, harvest and sample the food. Consider donating some of the food to people in need.

Encourage children to talk about how what they are learning can help them and others grow closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Discussions can take place before, during, or after the activity and should last just a few minutes. You could ask questions like the following:

• How is caring for a plant similar to taking care of yourself?
• What do you learn about the world by caring for plants?
• How does caring for our world help us appreciate God’s creations?
• How does it feel to care for and grow something?