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I am always on the lookout for hands-on learning opportunities for my kids. And I especially love science. So when I recently came across this Back to the Roots Oyster Mushroom Kit
Note: For more science resources and activities, please see my science activities for kids page.
After receiving our kit, we followed the directions by cutting a cross in the bag and soaking it in water overnight. The kit says the mushrooms grow in about 10 days. So we waited.
And we waited.
And we waited some more.
Altogether, we waited probably about a month – well beyond the 10 days it said on the box. (See below why this was probably our fault. :-).)
I’d honestly given up hope and the only reason I hadn’t tossed the kit in the trash was due to sheer laziness.
But then one day, I noticed some tiny mushrooms beginning to sprout! The kids were very excited.
And then we got very regular about spraying them with water. In fact, I think this was the part the kids loved most about growing our own mushrooms – the chance to use the spray bottle twice a day to keep them moist! (I also think it was probably our lack of consistent spraying initially that made the mushrooms take so long to grow.)
Eventually, we harvested the mushrooms and cooked them with a little garlic and oil for a delicious mushroom stir fry!
The kit promises at least two crops, so now we are anxiously awaiting the next growth (and we are being much better about spraying the kit :-)).
You can buy the Back to the Roots Oyster Mushroom Kit
More botany resources for kids
More botany posts from Gift of Curiosity:
- Teaching kids where food comes from
- The basics about plants
- Dyeing flowers
- Dissecting flowers
- Vegetable people craft
- Sprouting seeds
- Do seeds need light to grow?
- How leaves breathe
- How leaves get water
- Why do leaves change colors?
- Gardening do-a-dot printables
- Leaf rubbings book
For more botany activities for kids of all ages, see my Botany Unit Study page and my Botany Pinterest Board.
Follow Katie @ Gift of Curiosity’s board Botany Unit Study on Pinterest.
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Oh wow really is growing mushrooms really that easy? That’s the kind of thing I need.
Yes, it was super easy! No green thumb needed (which is a good thing since I definitely don’t have a green thumb)!
Fantastic – will look if they sell them in B&Q as we are off their today.Thanks for linking up with MotivationalMonday
A fun one for the kids, I wonder if growing them would get mine enjoying eating them?
Great timing! We have been reading library books about mushrooms and we just made a toadstool house for our toy fairies. My kids would love to grow their own mushrooms (then maybe I could convince them to try one?). Thanks for sharing. I popped over from Teach Me Tuesday Linky party.
This is so cool! I love that you were able to eat them too! Thanks for sharing this at Teach Me Tuesday at Preschool Powol Packets!!
Oh, I’ve always wanted to do that! My son would love the squirting, so I’ll have to consider actually doing it. The picture of the mushrooms cooking is making me hungry.
Wow, how cool!! Definitely something I could see the Clubhouse Kids having fun with. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Wow – neat! I stink at keeping things alive (other than my kids). 🙂 This looks easy, though!
Ha ha! I know, I certainly don’t have a green thumb but these mushrooms were pretty simple. 🙂
That is crazy! So cool. I would love to see if we could grow mushrooms from the mushrooms you get at the store. Thanks so much for sharing!
I really like the idea of growing mushrooms from store bought mushrooms; we do that with green onions. Something to look into for sure.
I will have to look into those. My husband loves mushrooms (even though no one else here will touch them)! They would be fun to grow though; thanks for sharing at Mom’s Library!
I’m not a mushroom fan either, but fortunately everyone else enjoys them. 🙂
I had no idea you could grow mushrooms like this, could be one to try especially as my kids also love a spray bottle!
Oh yes, it was really cool to witness. They took a while to get started but once they began, they grew like crazy!
I seriously want to grow mushrooms now because of this post! Thanks for inspiring me and linking up to the Hearts for Home bloghop.
Thanks for the feature, and enjoy growing your own mushrooms!
I want this! I will be buying this when my husband finds a job! What a great project. Thanks for sharing on It’s Playtime!