Starting Seeds with Kids

We certainly couldn’t do an S is for Seeds theme without planting any seeds, so throughout the week we did a little planting together. The boys’ grandmom gave me some radish seeds, and said they would be perfect for preschoolers…super quick to sprout! I thought I would also incorporate a little fine motor practice, so I put together a simple tray and invited the kids to start the seeds on their own.

Find all of our seed activities in our printable lesson plans

for home preschool and preschool classrooms.

The kids started by separating the cotton just a bit. I’m not sure this was necessary, but it was one way we incorporated fine motor practice as the kids pinched and pulled.

Then they grasped those tiny little radish seeds and placed a few inside their cotton balls.

Next they added a few drops off water to the bags. We sealed them mostly shut and taped them to the windows to get a bit of sun.

Sadly, I never took another picture of them, but they kids were AMAZED that we could already see little sprouts within 24 hours. Within a week we planted them in a container, and they have been growing very well ever since.

We also started a few different kinds of plants in containers during our seed theme. Tinker especially liked playing in the dirt, which prompted the development of our gardening sensory bin.

Later that day I remembered reading in The Garden Classroom about  using a garden journal as a way to incorporate literacy into our gardening activities. While the others were napping, Lovey dictated a sentence to me about what we did that day. Then she drew a picture to match. She loved it, and she was very eager to share her journal entry with Daddy when he got home that day.

In  The Garden Classroom there are some additional tips for using the garden journal. I particularly liked the ideas for items to include other than drawings alone. We’ve been adding new entries here and there, and I think it will be neat to have a little something to remember this year’s gardening efforts…our first as a family!

It’s been a while since we first planted all of the seeds, and we were really excited to eat our first radishes and peas already.

What are your favorite ways to plant seeds with kids? Any tips to share? I would love to hear from you in the comments.

Get a full week of playful seed theme ideas!

Save time and get right to the playful learning with our printable lesson plan sets. Each set includes over 30 playful learning activities related to the theme, and we’ve provided different versions for home preschool families and classroom teachers so all activities are geared directly toward your needs.

This pack includes editable lesson plans and hands-on activities for a week full of math, reading, & science learning activities about seeds and the foods we eat that come from seeds. Watch this short video to see just a few examples of the types of activities and printables included in this set:

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Home Preschool Seed Theme Lesson Plans

Preschool Classroom Seed Theme Lesson Plans

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