Activity Wednesday

Looking for an easy science lesson for your preschooler?  Here's a quick idea that will cultivate patience, problem solving, hypothesizing, and observation skills.

Materials:

bag of bird seed

package of herb seeds

potting soil

plastic clear container

watering can

shovels, scoops, etc

ruler

notebook and crayons, pencils, etc

Directions:

1. Reading a book about growing things.   Research an age appropriate book that talks about how things grow.  Discuss how different seeds grow different plants
2. Present items to child.  Talk about how different tools will be used in the project and how to appropriately use them.
3. Have child scoop soil into bin, counting how many measuring cups full we use.  Allow child to sprinkle seeds in bin, talking about where they land, patterns, etc.  Sprinkle with soil on top.
4. Water seeds and check every few days to see the progress.  Ask child to hypothesize about how the seeds will grow.  Ask them to predict the outcome.  Problem solve for problems with drought or over watering.  Encourage cooperation in planting.
5. Document observations in a notebook.  Encourage children to draw, write, and explain what they see or think will happen.

One suggestion I've heard is to use grass seed as well as it's fast growing and will help with impatient toddlers.