Measuring & Graphing with an Amaryllis

Our family received an Amaryllis kit from Grandma for Christmas. Today, the kids and I planted the bulb and got ready for a little measuring & graphing activity. Want to join us? Here's how:

1. Purchase an Amaryllis kit from a local store. In winter, they are widely available.

2. Plant the bulb according to package directions. (If yours, like ours, arrives with a hard disk of "plant medium," you might want to have a discussion about how much the peat changes by volume after water is added.)

3. Place an anchor in the soil to support your rulers. We used chopsticks.

4. Tape the ruler to the anchor so that it aligns with the top of the bulb's neck.

5. Measure. Our bulb already had green growth, albeit at a weird angle. We just measured straight across at the top so as not to break the plant. I told the boys that we'd measure our plant the same way I measure them...at the tippy top! My 12yo is measuring in centimeters and had to scale a blank graph to go with his estimate for ultimate growth. My 8yo is measuring in inches, to the nearest half inch.

Here are a variety of options for graphing amaryllis growth.

***This activity was created to say THANK YOU for your support this past year. I appreciate you!