Seeds

One of my favorite science units is plants. We always save it for this time of the year... We have so many fun outside learning activities planned, if only the weather would cooperative that it!! It's been raining for over a week. But we didn't let that stop us.

We began by investigating the parts of a seed. I soaked the seeds over night to let them expand a little so it would be easier for littler hands to manage.  I passed out one seed to every two kids along with a magnifying glass.  We pulled back the seed coat and talked about why it's important. Then we broke the seed open to find the baby plant (embryo) and the stored food.

Next, we talked about the things seeds need in order to grow: sunlight, air, space, and water.  We wondered whether or not seeds would grow without soil.  So I pulled out the Ziplock baggies, paper towel, and seeds.  We got the paper towel damp, put it in the baggie, stapled a horizontal line around the middle of the bag, and plopped in some seeds.

Now we wait.

I thought it would be fun to incorporate some math.  I filled little cups with a variety of seeds.  Then I assigned partners to work on a seed sort.  They had some estimating to do before they could start sorting and counting.  On the back side of this page there is a graph.  They had to graph the amount of each seed they have and then analyze it to answer questions.

Stay tuned for some more plant fun! These activities and more can be found in our Plant Unit.