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Home » Montessori » Curriculum » Life Science » Botany » Introducing Parts of the Seed to Preschoolers

Introducing Parts of the Seed to Preschoolers

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My approach to introducing a topic to my sons has evolved into a slower paced, very concrete at the start one. So when I decided to introduce Parts of the Seed to my sons, I decided to start with purely sensory activities that will hook them into the learning for a longer haul. We have examined seeds in the past but I wanted to move more slowly to invite inquiry and experimentation.

Introducing Parts of the Seed

Here is how we began our lesson on Seeds:

eric_carle_tiny_seed

Introduce with a book – I chose Eric Carle‘s The Tiny Seed . Such a lovely book to capture kids.

seed_mosaic_activity_preschool

Art  – What better way to hook a child than with art and a little bit of messy? I chose to do a Seed Mosaic with a bag of ten beans from the grocery. We first explored the different seeds in the bag, which is quite varied, then I handed them the materials: glue, a bowl with seeds and a small piece of post board.

mosaic_process

They had a great time. The result was beautiful, too.

seed_mosaic_final

Seed Dissection – Before we began our mosaic, I introduced them to two white kidney beans and two bowls of water. We placed the beans in the water and waited for the seed to begin coming apart. I like using kidney bean seeds because they are big and children can handle them with ease. I supplemented this exercise with FREE Parts of a Seed nomenclature cards from The Helpful Garden. There are loads of free printables on this site so I encourage you to explore the content.

seed_dissection

Sensory Table – I also set up a sensory table with Korean Mung Beans. They are unique in their color, green, and shape, round.

bean_sensory_table

Next to flax seeds, this bean might be my favorite sensory material. We talked about Korea being part of Asia and how the mung bean makes a traditional Korean food.

mung_beans_seed_activity

That is our start. The next lessons will compare and contract various seeds, learn the language of the parts and identify the plants that belong to various seeds.

Thank you for reading this post today. Please leave a comment, I love hearing from you.
Marnie

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Tagged With: Homeschool, Nature, Preschool, Sensory

About Marnie Craycroft

Marnie hails from Maine where she spent summers buried in sand and winters buried in snow. She is the daughter of a nearly four decade veteran of the public school systems. Teaching has always been a part of her life. She founded Carrots Are Orange in 2010.

Carrots Are Orange is a Montessori learning and living website for parents and teachers.

Marnie graduated from Wesleyan University in 1999 with a BA in Economics. She spent nearly a decade working in investment management. In 2006, she earned her MA in business from the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business.

Marnie moved to the west coast in 1999 and currently lives in Boulder with her husband and three sons. She is Montessori trained. Her work has been featured on Apartment Therapy, Buzzfeed, PBS Kids, BabyCenter, the Melissa & Doug blog, Huffington Post, and WhattoExpect.com. Besides writing, passions include running (usually after her three sons), photography, and outdoor adventures.

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