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The plant life cycle

Learning about a plant’s life cycle is an important part of a child’s scienceeducation. Here are some children’s activities that help explain how all living things grow and change as they go through their life cycle.

Pumpkin life cycle

Doing this pumpkin life-cycle craft is an adorable way for children to show their families what they’ve learned about the life cycle of a plant.

Paint a garden

Grow a garden indoors using art supplies. Have kids paint vegetables and plant them on a large piece of brown paper that represents dirt, and don’t forget to include elements needed to depict a plant’s life cycle, including the sun and rain.

Start a school garden

Perfect for kids in both elementary school and high school, planting a school garden creates a dynamic environment in which to observe a plant’s life cycle. Learn more about school gardens from the National Gardening Association’s KidsGardening program.

Make a seed book

This project can be adapted to all age groups. This book is made with real seeds, seed packets and zippered sandwich bags, and it gives students a chance to see real seeds along with the plant or flower they come from.

Observation log

Learning about a plant’s life cycle requires observation, so having students create an observation log will help them record their findings. Young children will enjoy drawing pictures to note what they see, while older children can use their words to describe their findings.

Seed necklace

Perfect for young children, this project gets kids familiar with seeds. Have several seeds available and allow kids to glue a variety of them to make this mosaic necklace.

Plant graph

Having kids make predictions about how plants will grow is a great way to encourage kids to form hypotheses and do experiments. This plant graph project has kids put their predictions down on paper in a colorful way.

Nature walk

Taking a nature walk is a great way to teach kids about the life cycle of plants because it gives them the opportunity to see a variety of plants in their natural habitat. It also helps kids form questions that they can later find the answers to by doing experiments and other projects.

Flower diagram

Talk about the parts of a flower and have kids label their own flower diagrams. Create this diagram by simply using construction paper and glue, or use cupcake liners to create a more 3-D effect.

Butterflies and hummingbirds

Attract butterflies and hummingbirds to a garden by planting their favorite flowers or by including feeders nearby. Both types of animals pollinate plants, so planning an activity during which kids can observe the butterflies and hummingbirds in action is a great way to teach one part of a plant’s life cycle.

This post was sponsored by Elmer’s.

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