Materials
full-length mirror
hand mirrors
large tagboard cards or poster board
markers
face cards or poster with facial expressions such as happy, sad, angry,
frightened, silly
Instructions
1. Show the children the alfalfa seeds. Ask them what they think the seeds will
grow into. Give them time to answer and record their answers on sentence
strips.
2. Ask the children to place the seeds in the jar. Help the children pour warm
water in the jar until the seeds are covered.
3. Place the seeds in a warm dark place and let them soak for 24 hours.
4. Cover the top of the jar with cheesecloth. Secure with the rubber band.
5. Have a child pour out the water out then rinse and drain the seeds twice.
(The cheesecloth will prevent the seeds from falling out.)
6. Repeat steps 3-5 for five days. Make sure all the children get a turn rinsing
and draining the seeds.
7. On the last day, place the sprouts in a window to turn green.
8. Bring out the sentence strips from step 1 and compare the children's
thoughts about the alfalfa seeds with the actual outcome.
9. Store the sprouts in a refrigerator. Enjoy the sprouts alone, on a salad, or
make a sprout and peanut butter sandwich.
More to do Books: Take photographs of each step of the activity. Paste the photos at the
top of a piece of craft paper and make a book about the alfalfa-sprouting
experience. Let the children dictate the text for each photo.
Snack: Make your own peanut butter to go with the sprouts! Secure a hand
grinder to a sturdy table. Fashion a cone from cardstock paper and attach it to
the top of the grinder. This will keep little fingers safely away from danger. Help
the children shell some peanuts and add them one handful at a time to the
grinder. Add a little oil so the grinder turns smoothly and let children take turns
grinding away! Grind about 1 pound of peanuts, adding oil as needed. Stir the
peanut butter thoroughly with a spoon. Enjoy!
(Note: Be aware of any peanut allergies and plan accordingly.)
