We had to plan an entire day out of the house last week because our apartment was scheduled to be treated for bugs. Luckily the weather was gorgeous so we could spend most of the day outside at the park. Instead of skipping a day of school, I decided to plan a few educational activities we could work on outside. I've been wanting to do a seed investigation for awhile now and this was the perfect opportunity.
In this post I share the activities and resources we did to explore different types of seeds and learn about how they work.
Collect and Compare
Seeds come in many different shapes and sizes. Go outside and have your kids search for different types of seeds. Some common ones to look for are dandelion seeds, acorns, and seeds from fruit and nut trees. You can also collect seeds from your kitchen or grocery store like sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, peach pits, avocado pits, apple seeds, bell pepper seeds, etc...
Compare the different sizes, shapes, and colors of the different seeds you collected. Point out that some seeds have structures to help them move away from where they were grown. Dandelion seeds have puffy little parachutes that allow them to blow away on the wind.
You could even try sketching the different types of seeds that you find in a nature journal.
The Parts Of A Seed
All seeds have three basic parts. The seed coat is a seed's outer layer that protects it as it waits to grow. Inside the seed is a tiny baby plant called the embryo, and the endosperm which is food for the developing plant.
Sketch or print a diagram of a seed and have your child label the parts.
Try breaking a seed open and show your child the embryo and endosperm.
To learn more about the parts of a plant check out these online resources:
-Seed Germination from Science For Kids
-Structure Of A Seed from Easy Science For Kids
Seed Math
Seeds can be used in various ways to practice math skills. Young children can practice their counting skills with seeds. They can also be used to practice sorting skills. Just give your child a handful of mixed seeds like dried beans, dried corn kernels, acorns, etc... and have your child sort them into small bowls.
A handful of mixed seeds can also be used for graphing practice. Have your child sort the seeds and then make a line graph showing the amount of each type of seed.
Get out a small measuring tape or a ruler and have your child measure and record the length and width of various types of seeds.
Additional Resources
Here are a few more videos and web pages about seeds you can check out:
-How Does A Seed Become A Plant from SciShow Kids
-Seed Germination Experiment from Little Bins For Little Hands
-Bean Time Lapse Video
If you enjoyed this post, check out:
-Dandelion Investigation
-Avian Egg Investigation
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In this post I share the activities and resources we did to explore different types of seeds and learn about how they work.
Collect and Compare
Seeds come in many different shapes and sizes. Go outside and have your kids search for different types of seeds. Some common ones to look for are dandelion seeds, acorns, and seeds from fruit and nut trees. You can also collect seeds from your kitchen or grocery store like sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, peach pits, avocado pits, apple seeds, bell pepper seeds, etc...
Compare the different sizes, shapes, and colors of the different seeds you collected. Point out that some seeds have structures to help them move away from where they were grown. Dandelion seeds have puffy little parachutes that allow them to blow away on the wind.
You could even try sketching the different types of seeds that you find in a nature journal.
The Parts Of A Seed
All seeds have three basic parts. The seed coat is a seed's outer layer that protects it as it waits to grow. Inside the seed is a tiny baby plant called the embryo, and the endosperm which is food for the developing plant.
Sketch or print a diagram of a seed and have your child label the parts.
Try breaking a seed open and show your child the embryo and endosperm.
To learn more about the parts of a plant check out these online resources:
-Seed Germination from Science For Kids
-Structure Of A Seed from Easy Science For Kids
Seed Math
Seeds can be used in various ways to practice math skills. Young children can practice their counting skills with seeds. They can also be used to practice sorting skills. Just give your child a handful of mixed seeds like dried beans, dried corn kernels, acorns, etc... and have your child sort them into small bowls.
A handful of mixed seeds can also be used for graphing practice. Have your child sort the seeds and then make a line graph showing the amount of each type of seed.
Get out a small measuring tape or a ruler and have your child measure and record the length and width of various types of seeds.
Additional Resources
Here are a few more videos and web pages about seeds you can check out:
-How Does A Seed Become A Plant from SciShow Kids
-Seed Germination Experiment from Little Bins For Little Hands
-Bean Time Lapse Video
If you enjoyed this post, check out:
-Dandelion Investigation
-Avian Egg Investigation
Follow me on:
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