Reuniting Kids w/ Nature - Growth Chart

MATERIALS: 
Graph paper, a ruler, crayons, markers or colored pencils, plants to measure

TIME FRAME: 
30 - 60 minutes

PROCEDURE:

1. Using your graph paper, label the horizontal axis with time (days or weeks)
2. Label your vertical axis with height (centimeters or inches)
3. If you’d like, you can leave some extra room around your actual chart where you can draw pictures as a way to help you document your plants growth
4. On the first day of observed germination (growth), write down the date on your horizontal axis
5. Track your chosen plants growth daily (or weekly) by carefully measuring it and jotting down it’s growth on your chart.  You can create either a bar graph or a line graph, depending on your preference.

REFLECTION:
How long did it take for your plant to germinate?  How long after germination did it take to reach a height of an inch? Six inches?  Did your plant grow as you expected it to? Why or why not?  Did you chart multiple plants? How did they grow differently from each other?

TIDBITS: 
Did you know that humans have been observing the growth of other living beings for thousands of years but the first documented bar chart is credited to Nicole Oresme in the 14th century.

TIPS & IMAGININGS:

• You can use the germination activity any of the other planting activities in this guide to chart the growth of one (or  several) plants.
• Imagine if humans grew as fast as plants do!  How tall do you think you’d be within the first 6 months of your life?  You’d be like a giant!
• Think about other plants or trees you can chart.  Can you compare your own growth to that of a plant?  How quickly are you growing in comparison to your chosen plant?  Why do you think it might be different?

This activity is part of a series of low cost, hands on activities that can be used by anyone who has a passion for nature and who believes that a child's time spent in nature is not only important, but necessary.  Each activity was either created by me or gathered from a variety of sources.  You can find the complete list of all of the activities on my Nature Activities tab.

xoxo,

M

Enjoy this space?  Please vote for me daily by simply clicking here. Thank you!