I browsed a bunch of how-to's for "terrarium" and "bottle biosphere." This is the one I chose to print for our use:
http://weirdsciencekids.com/ecosystem.html
Smaller children may prefer to make a box-like scene of plastic plants in a circular glass jar from the Dollar Tree. That way, they can see the plants and critters and explain their purpose without the fragile, messy parts that require patience or long-term focus.
On 3-25, we followed a print of the website's directions to build our bottle biosphere. We kept a log every 2-3 days. We also named our terrariums as a way to personalize them. Mine was "Mom Bean" and Austin's was "SUPER BEAN (not actually super)." Lol, my kid.
- By 4-1 (day 7 or 8) our seeds began to sprout.
- Quickly after the plant developed sprouts, Austin noticed roots crowding the edge of the bottle and decided that we should re-pot our sprouts.
- Today (4-4-16 and day 11 of growth), we examined the roots while re-potting our sprouts.
By "we," I mean I because Austin is phobic of buzzing insects and demands to examine at the kitchen table or through the kitchen screen. That's ok. I respect and empathyze with his phobias. I have some myself. I often carry our plants to him for inspection.
Gardening has provided us with fabulous opportunities to discuss The Lord's plan, creation, and even parenting. God is perfect. He makes humans in His image, yet we are imperfect because of our free will. No matter how perfect we are at gardening, the seed has its own free will as well. Does God watch us with the same hope that we have for our garden? We discussed how we are giving the seed opportunity to grow and how philanthropy shouldn't always have to yield the fruits of labor. Sometimes, just watching that seed grow is reward enough. That's where the parenting conversations start. The process of growing things is amazing to watch. I've had great luck with growing and saving seeds from jaguar marigolds, but this is the first time I've tried to grow a popular edible food. I think my enthusiasm is making this even more interesting for Austin. Thanks to our lesson, we know the complexity of what is going on in the bottle/plant as it grows. Imo, it's so much better than an ant farm.
(Side note) I also planted sunflowers this year. Yesterday, the wind knocked over my egg carton planter. Luckily, the plants were ready to be re-potted and I believe that I was able to save 5 of 6. Austin says it's the equivalent of "the great flood," but with plants and wind, "Sometimes, God's will is to make you move a little quicker and you can't mess with God's will, ma."
I showed Austin a video of a Kiwi-Nana, where someone spoofed cross-planting. We went back to our dichotomous key to discuss why these plants cannot interbreed. That lead to a big ole sidetrack about tomatoes.
You may also enjoy this HGTV playlist of videos, with recommendations:
I'm going crazy wandering this site now.
Here's a chart or scientific names for the parts of a bean plant:
Ours are developing their trifoliate leaves and one plant's cotyledon has started to wither off mid-stem. Most of the cotyledons are plump and bean-like. I just want to take pictures every single day. They're such rapid growers!
