One of things I loved doing when I was a kid was “growing” munggo plants at home. It was a quick Scientific experiment and only required, cotton balls and a container. After growing them in the cotton balls however they would never make the switch to soil and would die right after. Hmm. But anyway, I decided to show DW this cool experiment to teach him about the life cycle of plants and to teach him about the value of waiting. The concept of waiting is still foreign to the little guy and explaining to him about this abstract concept is a challenge.
So the lowly munggo comes into play. I told him about the seeds and that we’ll wait together and watch it grow. DW immediately recalled Jack and the Beanstalk and how the magic seeds grew into the giant beanstalk overnight. I had to let him know that in real life, seeds take their sweet time and that they need to be looked after and cared for. So I peeled off a couple of cotton balls from my huge roll of cotton, dampened them and placed them in plastic container. We got around 15 munggo seeds from Manang and placed them on the container. I told DW to keep the container in a safe place and to look after them. He was excited.
Too excited.
Me: No the seeds are not growing yet. We have to wait.
And here he is “waiting”
Everyday, I’d ask DW about his monggo and his face would light up about how tall his plants are. And they ARE tall now! I asked DW if he wants to plant again and he says he wants flowers 🙂 I want to plant pechay just because it’s a green leafy vegetable — malaki ang impact haha 😀
I know that this one planting experiment isn’t enough for DW to fully learn about the value of patience and waiting but it sure makes the process fun 🙂
khaye says
July 8, 2012 at 9:16 amMy son is now having his first planting adventure too! Thanks for the inspiration! 🙂
manilamommy says
July 8, 2012 at 8:11 pmthanks for dropping by khaye and you’re definitely welcome 🙂
Truly Rich Mom aka Teachermama Tina says
July 1, 2012 at 1:42 amThe kids super LOVED it when we did that experiment! 🙂 The first time was in Timor, and then last year at our old apartment. 🙂 We plan to plant something again soon here at the new apartment! 🙂 Thanks for “reminding” me about our plans through this post, Neva! 😀 God bless!
Chris says
June 29, 2012 at 7:57 pmwe are actually doing the same experiment now at home! 😀
EJ says
June 27, 2012 at 9:50 pmGreat idea, Ate Nina!!! Gwapo ng pamangkin ko. We voted for you for Mom Blogger — well deserved! 🙂
neva | manilamommy says
June 28, 2012 at 11:42 amthanks EJ 🙂 Up to three times a day ang voting, vote ka na uli haha 😀
Tiffany says
June 27, 2012 at 1:05 pmPwede! 🙂 I will try this with Troy this weekend. Thanks for the learning idea, nevs.
neva | manilamommy says
June 28, 2012 at 11:43 amEnjoy Tiff!
Rone says
June 26, 2012 at 10:11 pmI remember doing that as a kid! Puede rin avocado seed.
neva | manilamommy says
June 28, 2012 at 11:44 amuy thanks for the idea Rone! we have avocado in the house now!
Tiffany says
June 28, 2012 at 2:18 pmUy, really? Am curious about the Avocado seed experiment. I guess that one has to be on soil noh?
manilamommy says
June 28, 2012 at 6:27 pmyes i think so. i need to look for flower seeds na rin 😛
Aimee says
June 25, 2012 at 6:20 pmaaawwww. DW is so cute! that reminds me of a project that i did back in gradeschool. we were asked to plant some seeds in a can filled with soil. we were graded based on how lush the plant came to be. i failed that project. my plant was the only one that died. sniff. 🙁
neva | manilamommy says
June 28, 2012 at 11:45 amnaku trauma ba aimee? hehe 😀 munggo never fails talaga
Faye says
June 25, 2012 at 1:25 pmhahaha pilyo look si DW sa first pic pero super cute! never tried this experiment with Maia yet but it sure looks interesting. Maia seems to understand the concept of waiting na though pero can’t distinguish lang from kanina at kahapon. It’s always ‘kanina’ pa for her. Hehe, napakwento na. 🙂
neva | manilamommy says
June 28, 2012 at 11:46 amhi faye!! dami nyo na ngang activities ni maia diba? 😀 pero itong munggo cheap and never fail na experiment e hehe 😀 have fun!
Mommy Maye says
June 25, 2012 at 10:52 amHi! That’s cool! Hmmm, I think I should do this with my son.
Mommy Maye (http://momayes.blogspot.com/)
Cai says
June 25, 2012 at 9:26 amI remember having the same experiment when I was in nursery! 🙂