Wonderfullittleseeds
When spring arrives, our fingers tingle with excitement at the thought of sowing seeds of every kind – white, black, green, or yellow, round, flat, funny-shaped, tiny or huge! The world of little seeds – which will grow into beautiful plants if we care for them well – is incredibly diverse and full of richness It’s a wonderful universe to explore with children “Come on, come on, the seeds are calling, spring is here! Plant us in the soil!”
Necessary materials
Seeds from about ten different vegetable species
A pillbox (optional… but very practical!)
A picture chart of the chosen vegetables
The same picture chart to cut out: one copy per child
Glue sticks, scissors, tape
Notebooks or thick sheets of paper
Pots
Soil/potting mix
Step1:Discoveringthediversityofseeds
Prepare the seeds you want to show the children in advance A pillbox is very handy for keeping different seeds separate (you can slip a small piece of paper with the seed’s name into each compartment). On the day of the activity, place the vegetable picture chart in front of the children (for example, one you’ve found online, printed, and laminated). Take the seeds out of the pillbox one by one and place them in a small dish. Ask the children if they recognize the seed, and invite them to describe it and compare it with the others If needed, tell them which plant it belongs to and then ask them to point to the matching vegetable picture. Continue in the same way for all the seeds.
Give each child the seed pictures to paste into a notebook or onto a sheet of thick paper. Then, plant by plant, hand them a real seed to stick on with tape and match to its corresponding picture. The children glue the seed and its image side by side.
Step3:Sowingseeds
Next comes the time to put the seeds—or some of them—into the soil. Depending on your situation and the needs of each species, you can sow them in pots or directly in the ground, with or without a greenhouse Large seeds, such as peas, are especially well-suited for young children If you regularly see the children with whom you planted the seeds, it’s a wonderful opportunity to teach them how to care for the plants by meeting their needs for light, warmth, water, and attention If that’s not possible, invite the children to take their baby plant home and care for it together with their parents.
LearningGenius
Bibliography
ow Does My Garden Grow?, Gerda Müller, L’école des Loisirs
