How to Explain to a Child Why the Grass Is Green

Build your child's knowledge of nature by explaining why grass and other plants are green.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 10x Magnifying Glasses
• Houseplants
• Microscopes

1. Look at plants. While you are outside, draw attention to grass, leaves and other green plants. Initiate discussion by asking your child why most plants are green and see what answers you get.

2. Explain how plants grow. Review with your child a plant's need for water and sunlight to grow. Search the Internet to find great ideas and experiments for teaching your child how trees and plants grow.

3. Discuss photosynthesis. Plants combine the energy from all of the sun's colors with water and minerals from the soil to produce glucose, a plant's major source of nourishment. The only color a plant does not use is green.

4. Clarify for your child that plants absorb the sunlight into their leaves with special cells called chloroplasts. The chloroplast cells store the unused green color in the leaves of the plant giving the plant its brilliant green color.

5. Experiment with plants and sunlight. Buy or plant several types of the same plant. Grow the plants in different environments such as a windowsill, a dim or dark room and a closet. Which plant has the greenest leaves? Why?

6. Observe a leaf. Look closely at a leaf under a microscope or high-powered magnifying glass. If the instrument is strong enough, you will see the green color left over from the sunlight in the chloroplast compartments.

Tips & Warnings

• Introduce your child to spectrums and rainbows to further clarify how light is made of all colors. Check out the Related eHow "How to Explain Why the Sky Is Blue to Your Toddler" for some good links.
• If your don't have access to observation instruments, tap into the Internet for some cool links and pictures of the inside of a leaf.
• Beware of poisonous plants and leaves when collecting samples to look at. If you don't know - don't pick it up.

[loblolly90]

on 1/14/2007 Nice article. A couple of technical corrections:

Step 3: Carbon dioxide is the primary substrate for photosynthesis, so you'll also need to mention that the plant "breathes" in air to help it make food. I wouldn't use the term "glucose", I'd just say "sugar".

Step 4: Chloroplasts are not cells; they are organelles inside of cells. The chlorophyll in chloroplasts doesn't store the color green; it bounces (reflects) the green wavelengths back to your eyes.