Did you know you can regrow lettuce? Well, you can. Simply put the ends of it in water. Since we had already done that, I decided to take it up a notch and get the full use out of my lettuce by using it for a simple science experiment. I simply put the 3 ends of the lettuce in small food storage containers and asked Sweet Pea which two liquids she’d like to experiment with. One had to be water, which was our control, because we know that works and what it looks like, but the other two liquids were up to her.

And, as my husband was walking in the door, she shouted, “Daddy, we’re doing a ‘speriment with salad! Look at it!”

I let her choose two liquids, and she chose lemon juice and vinegar. Then, we all made predictions. I noticed that because we’ve been doing experiments off and on for the last few months now, she’s gotten a little better at making predictions. She tends to stick to the same things, but that make sense because she doesn’t have a lot of prior knowledge to go off of. Sweet Pea predicted that water will grow the tallest, followed by lemon juice. She didn’t think anything would change color; just that it will grow.

Sweet Pea checks her experiment multiple times a day, without prompting (proof that she enjoys science!). She noticed that they all grew a bit, but that she was wrong with her color changing prediction. My little scientist asked a TON of questions, some of which I had to look up the answer for and try to break down to a simple answer for her. But, it’s so worth it. And, I believe that it’s ok for our kids to know that we don’t know all the answers, but that we know how to find out.

To do this experiment you’ll need:

• The bottoms of lettuce (the part where it was in/at the ground)
• Containers (I used plastic because they’re lighter and easier for Sweet Pea to handle)
• 3 different liquids (or more if you have more lettuce to use up)

Steps:

1. Cut the lettuce remains the same length (or almost the same length. We’re working with little kids, so we want to follow the scientific process, but we don’t need to drive ourselves crazy about it.
   1. Note: You could also do this with celery.
2. Stick the lettuce in the containers.
3. Add the same amount of liquid to each container. Make sure one is water so that you have a control. The other two are up to you and your child. Use whatever is easiest and what you already have at home.
4. Label your containers. Again. Nothing fancy. Masking tape works well.
5. Make predictions about what will happen. Ask your child what he/she thinks will happen. Use simple questions to help prompt your child as needed.
   1. Will it grow?
   2. Will they all grow the same?
   3. Which will grow the tallest? Why?
   4. Will they change color? Why/why not?
   5. What else might happen?
6. Check your experiment each day and talk about the changes. If you want, you can write them down, but we haven’t done this yet. I don’t think we need to yet, but it’s something we’ll eventually start doing.
7. Have fun!!

Science doesn’t have to be fancy or hard! What liquids are you testing? 

I’d love to hear about it. Connect with me on my Facebook page!

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