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You are here: Home / Spring Activities / How to Plant Seeds for an Easy Kids Gardening Activity

How to Plant Seeds for an Easy Kids Gardening Activity

March 25, 2016 by Sheryl Cooper

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This post might contain affiliate links. CLICK HERE for more information. Thanks for visiting!

Inside: Planting seeds is our favorite kids gardening activity. After planting the seeds, children learn the importance of taking care of them while observing their growth. A highlight during the spring gardening theme!

Planting seeds with kids is one of my favorite nature activities.

Preschoolers love to be part of the process, such as when we made our terrariums awhile back.

They are fascinated how the seeds are tucked into the soil and they take great care by watering them daily, waiting for them to grow.

When the first sign of green pops through the soil, the biggest smiles erupt from their faces. Once they take their plants home, parents say the preschoolers continue to nurture them, making sure they get plenty of water and light. What a valuable life lesson!

I thought I’d share today how to plant seeds with kids – the easy way!

Planting Seeds with Kids

 

How to Plant Seeds for an Easy Kids Gardening Activity

 

What you will need:

  • biodegradable pots
  • soil
  • seeds
  • craft sticks
  • shovels or something to scoop soil
  • spray bottle filled with water

Planting Seeds with Kids

 

If you are in a classroom, label each plant pot with the children’s names with a permanent marker.

 

Planting Seeds with Kids

 

Open the seed packets. If you have different seeds, have the children compare them. My preschoolers were fascinated at the difference in size and appearance of each seed.

 

Planting Seeds with Kids

 

Place the soil in some sort of bin. Have the children scoop the soil into their peat pot until it’s almost to the top. We counted the scoops out loud.

 

Planting Seeds with Kids

 

I like to plant a few seeds in each container, in case one (or two) don’t make it. I place the seeds in the palm of the children’s hands and they use the fingers from the other hand to pinch the seeds and placed them in the soil. They then gently push some soil on top of the seeds, tucking them in like a blanket.

 

Planting Seeds with Kids

 

I explain how the seeds need water to grow. I give them a spray bottle so they can mist the soil, like gentle rain.

 

Planting Seeds with Kids

 

I write the name of the plant on a craft stick and the children stick these in the soil of their pots.

 

Planting Seeds with Kids

 

We talk about how seeds need light to grow, so after their seeds are planted, they take them to the window sill.

 

Planting Seeds with Kids

 

Another name recognition moment. They loved finding their names and checking on their seeds.

 

Planting Seeds with Kids

 

The seeds were kept near our science shelf, where we had reference books and other items from nature. After a few days, the children took their seeds home to take care of them.

 

The benefits of gardening with kids:

  • children have a better connection with the earth
  • they develop patience as they wait for the seeds to grow
  • they gain responsibility as they take care of the plants
  • they learn about the growth process

 

Resources:

  • Ready, Set, Grow
  • The Benefits of Gardening with Children

gardening with kids

Bonus! Get a full week of preschool seeds theme lesson plans!

Preschool Seeds Printables
This set includes active hands-on learning ideas and the following printables:

1) Foods With and Without Seeds Shared Writing Recording Sheet
2) Uppercase Alphabet Seed Packet Cards
3) Lowercase Alphabet Seed Cards
4) A to Z Seed Writing Task Cards
5) 1 to 12 Flower Pot Seed Counting Mats
6) Seeds Science Journal
7) Seed Shape Tracing Task Cards
8) Seed Sorting Mat
9) Seed Theme Beginning Sounds Sort (Seeds T, F, C)
10) Seed Sprouting Graph

Get Your Lesson Plans

Preschool Classroom Seeds Theme Lesson Plans

Home Preschool Seeds Theme Lessons Plans

 

Planting Seeds with Preschoolers

 


More spring activities:

13 Spring Crafts for Preschoolers

How to Make a Butterfly Feeder

A Collection of Fun Flower Activities

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Filed Under: preschool, Preschool Science, Science, Spring Activities, Toddlers Tagged With: gardening, nature, preschool, science, spring

About Sheryl Cooper

Sheryl Cooper is the founder of Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds, a website full of activities for toddlers and preschoolers. She has been teaching this age group for over 20 years and loves to share her passion with teachers, parents, grandparents, and anyone with young children in their lives.

Previous Post: « Fun Easter Ideas for Toddlers and Preschoolers
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Welcome! I'm Sheryl Cooper, teacher of 2 and 3 year olds for over 19 years. Read more about me here!

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