The Circle of Life

Many children are not aware that fruit can grow from a single seed.  A great way to teach them about the lifecycle of fruit is to take a few seeds from an apple they have eaten and show them how they start to grow.

You can do this by taking a paper towel and dampening it then ask the children to put the seeds in the paper towel and gently wrap them up. 

Get them to place the damp towel in a plastic sandwich bag and almost completely close the bag or fully close it and create a small hole to let in some oxygen.

The bags can then be put in the fridge for 6 weeks. This is like stimulating the winter season for the plants.

Occasionally remove the seeds to let the children identify any new growth. When the sprouts start to appear the seeds can be transferred in to plastic cups with little potting soil and then placed in the sunlight by a window.

The sprouts will need to be watered and kept moist.

It is important that the children know that these will not grow in to apple trees straight away as that can take years, but it will teach them how that process starts.