Do you ever feel like you do the same thing over and over again with your students? Have you ever tried planting seeds with students or even some type of plant activities with elementary students? Not seeds of knowledge or a new concept but REAL plant seeds! Planting seed with elementary students, high school students, and even ones younger ones can be so fun! Are you worried you don’t have the time, resources, or knowledge to do that? Don’t worry I can help with that!
You always hear of plant activities for elementary students when the students bring something home for Mother’s Day or they might draw a flower; but we can extend that into so many more learning opportunities! As an Agriculture teacher, mom of little ones and someone who LOVES to garden! This stuff excites me and is SO COOL! And it can be SO EASY! Let me help you along and give you some exciting and new ideas that will get you ready to do this in your own classroom and even in your own home!
Get Excited! That is the first step! You can’t really mess this up! If the plants die (which they will) that is OK and it won’t be the last time! Start again and it is a great lesson learned! Don’t stress about the process but enjoy the journey with your students and learners. Literally all you need to get started is some seeds and a place inside OR outside that gets sunlight. I am going to give you two different ideas to help you bring some exciting things into your classroom or home learning environment!
This is such a simple yet fun and engaging activity. The best part of the entire thing is it is easy to germinate (come up out of the ground) and planting seeds with students will be a success for you! This doesn’t just have to fall under plant activities for elementary student though! I do this with my two and four year old and even my high school food science class! In my food science class we take it a step further and make salad dressing and talk about how oil and vinegar don’t mix and how you have to have an emulsifier to get them to mix to make mayo. It turns into a really cool discussion and it becomes two VERY easy labs that cost hardly nothing!
No problem! In my high school class and even in my middle school class we plant them on the window to see the different parts of the plant and watch them grow. For this we plant them two different ways. The first way we plant them is using a damp paper towel that we place the seeds in. Then we also use milk jugs that I have cut in half. The milk jug serves as the pot.
When planting in the milk jug you need to think about how much water you are going to give them so you don’t flood them. You can poke holes in the bottom of the jug, just make sure you put the jug/pot on something so they water doesn’t get all over your window sill. First step when planting- Get the soil wet- not dripping, just moist to the touch. Sprinkle the seeds on top and cover with dirt. I let the students do this in groups of 2-3 and then that is also their groups they will cook in for the salad dressing. They LOVE it and think it is so cool to make the connection of food they have grown themselves and then they get to EAT it! They talk about this lab for days- Win for you!
Other FUN items you can use during the lesson BUT not required. All the ideas I explained above and in my newsletter can be completed without the addition of the items below but if your looking for something more check these out! My own little kids loved these and it was a great addition to a birthday gift, homeschool lesson, or enrichment activity in my high school classroom. These are amazon affiliate links and I do earn a small commission off them. But they are STILL SO COOL!
HSP Nature Toys Root-Vue Farm Multicolor
Educational Insights Sprout & Grow Window Plant Growing Kit
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I hope you enjoyed this blog! I can’t wait to see what you do with your new knowledge. You will rock it, and I know the big and little learners in your life will love your new ideas too! See below for other ways to keep learning.
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