Preschool Planting Seeds Activities: What is a Seed and How Does it Grow?

This Preschool Companion to our Gardening: Discoveries with Seeds Unit Study will help your early learners find out “What is a Seed?”, “How to Plant Seeds”, and “What Do Seeds Need to Grow?”

While your preschoolers are playing in a pretend garden, counting & sorting seeds, singing songs and finger plays about seeds and gardens, listening to stories and facts about seeds, sprouts, and plants and creating a keepsake science journal, they will discover what seeds need to sprout & grow into healthy plants; the four life cycle stages of a plant; how seeds are dispersed; and more in this Seeds Unit Study that is full of preschool planting seeds activities!

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Books for learning “What is a Seed?” and “How to Plant Seeds”, and “What Do Seeds Need to Grow?”

These books are listed in order of importance, so if you can only get a couple of these books, get the ones at the top of the list.

• One Bean by Anne Rockwell Also available on Internet Archive if you can’t find a paper copy
• A Seed is Sleepy by Diana Aston and illustrated by Sylvia Long Absolutely beautiful watercolors and mesmerizing text. Don’t skip this one!
• A Fruit Is a Suitcase for Seeds by Jean Richards
• From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons NF
• How a Seed Grows (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1) by Helene Jordan NF
• In the Garden by Elizabeth Spurr Also available on Internet Archive if you can’t find a paper copy
• Seeds Move written and illustrated by Robin Page, Caldecott Honoree Looks at many different seeds and the many ways seeds can be dispersed around the world. OR
• The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle Learn how seeds are dispersed and how some don’t land in the right locations for them to grow.

Preschool Planting Seeds Activities: Language Arts & Emergent Literacy

Plants Poetry

Have your kids learn the nursery rhyme Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary. Some sources say that this rhyme was originally about England’s Queen Mary I (also known as Bloody Mary), but other evidence points to it being about Mary, Queen of Scots.

Original 1744 Version

Mistress Mary, Quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With Silver Bells, And Cockle Shells,
And so my garden grows

Tom Thumbs Pretty Song Book

Modern Version

Mary, Mary, quite contrary,

How does your garden grow?

With silver bells, and cockle shells,

And pretty maids all in a row.

Public Domain

Plants Vocabulary

Teach your kids new vocabulary words about plants and seeds, like “wheelbarrow”, “watering can”, and “sprouting” with the printable Preschool Plants and Seeds Vocabulary Cards. After printing, let your kids color the picture as you talk about each one, describing it for them.

You can also have them grab the card when they hear a vocabulary word while reading about seeds and plants.

And, of course, you can always print a second set to play a matching style game.

Seeds Folktale

Jack and the Beanstalk is a famous folktale about a boy who sells the family’s only cow for some “magic” beans. The first published version of this folktale was called The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean.

My family’s favorite versions are Jack and the Beanstalk by Steven Kellogg and Jack and the Beanstalk by Paul Galdone. You can also watch the classic version from Children’s Best Stories on YouTube.

Seeds Emergent Literacy & Pre-Writing Skills

The printable What is a Seed preschool mini-book “Seeds Are…” will let your little ones feel like big kids when they “read” this emergent reader book to find characteristics of seeds and what seeds need.

Find the printable “Seeds Are…” mini book along with the rest of the printables for this unit in the Free Resource Library. Look under Unit Studies.

If you are planting a garden this year, save your seed packets to create an emergent literacy and matching game for your kids like this one over at A Mom’s Take.

Preschool Planting Seeds Activities STEAM

Seeds & Plants Science

Exploring Seeds in our Foods This week, as you prepare meals and snacks, take a moment to look at your fresh fruits and veggies and see if they contain seeds. IF you don’t have ready access to lots of fresh foods, use the Seeds in Fruits and Veggies printable to show your kids and talk to them about the different sizes and shapes of seeds, as well as how some plants have a few few, while some have many.

Complete the Plants Life Cycle Worksheet to sequence the life stages of a plant ( seed, sprout, seedling, plant) in order. (Comes in both b/w & color).

What Do Seeds Need to Sprout? Experiment Use the printable experiment pages below to record the experiment process plus the daily observations of their seed.

1. Gather some bean seeds (or just use dried beans from the grocery store).
2. Place a few beans along with a moistened paper towel in a zipper-top plastic sandwich baggie.
3. Then repeat for the second baggie with beans and a damp paper towel. Zip both closed.
4. Place one in a dark place, like inside a box in a cabinet, and tape the other to a sunny window.
5. Each day, check both to make sure the paper towel hasn’t dried out (if it has, dampen it again).
6. In a few days, the beans in the sunny location will begin to sprout.
7. Finally, talk to your kiddos about the things that plant seeds need to sprout and be healthy (light and water).

You can find the Preschool “What Seeds Need to Sprout Experiment” in the WCH Resource Store, both as a separate Freebie, or in the Preschool Seeds Unit Study

Seeds & Plants Math

Sorting Seeds Grab a small bag of either mixed birdseed or Hurst’s 15 Bean Soup mixed beans (my kids LOVE Hurst’s Cajun 15 beans soup Beans–and the spice packet is even gluten free!– from the dried bean section of most grocery stores and WalMart; a pound bag is usually only a couple of dollars) and pour some into a shallow bowl for you kids to explore. Let them sort the seeds or beans at least 3 different times: by color, by size, and by shape.

Planting a Garden Pretend Play

You can easily create a pretend play garden for your little ones with just a pool noodle, a flat box, and a brown hand towel. Check out the directions from PreK Pages to see how easy it is to make.

Use toy fruits and veggies from your children’s play food stash. Or if you are crafty, you can make some with felt and a bit of stuffing. I’ve also created a printable set of vegetables (included in the Preschool Seeds Unit Study Bundle) that you can print and laminate in case you don’t have other toy options.

Model matching and counting with your preschooler as they plant and harvest their garden vegetables.

Seeds and Gardening Arts: Practical, Fine, and Applied

Fine & Applied Art Many artists have made a living creating “commercial” art. Vintage seed packets were definitely works of art! Let your preschoolers and kinders use their creative skills to design their own seed packet. Two printable templates are included in the Preschool Seeds Unit Study Bundle.

Your very youngest kiddos will enjoy creating a carrot garden by finger-painting with dirt. Either draw or cut out some carrot shapes on a sheet of paper. Then mix up a bit of mud paint by combining dirt and water; you want it to be pretty thick–like pancake batter. Let your child plant the carrots by painting mud over the carrots.

Gardens, Plants & Seeds Music & Finger Plays

Miss Katie Sings A Little Flower finger play

My Garden finger play with You Are My Sunshine

Farmer Plants the Seeds song by the Kiboomers

Or try this song, sung to the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Grow, grow, grow a plant,

Starting with a seed,

Give it soil, sun, and water

That is all it needs

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Preschool Planting Seeds Activities: Sensory, Gross & Fine Motor Skills

Harvesting Carrots Your little ones will work on fine motor skills (and maybe more counting, too) when they “harvest” the carrots from an egg carton garden. Create tiny “carrots” from orange and green pipe cleaners. Turn an egg carton upside down and poke a hole in the bottoms of the cups. Push the carrots through the holes and let your kids pull the carrots out. Or you can use real baby carrots like they did in this sensory bin. This preschool harvesting & planting seeds activity goes really well with The Carrot Seed book list above, too.

Colored Beans Did you know that you can dye beans just like you can color rice for sensory bins? It’s true! Use the instructions from Views from a Stepstool, which only take 2 ingredients.

Oh, and if you are wondering why any sane person would let their little kids have access to a sensory bin of beans, read my article that explains the 10 Reasons why Sensory Bins are Worth the Mess. 😊

Seed Sock Walk Put some socks on over your shoes and go for a nature walk to gather seeds (they will stick to your socks). Walking through a pasture or field, or along a fence row, or even in a park are great places to pick up seeds on your socks. This is a great opportunity to talk about seed dispersal. The books Seeds Move by Robin Page and Flip, Float, Fly by Joann Early Macken will both help you explain seed dispersal to your younger kiddos.

History of Seeds for Preschoolers

A Weed is a Flower: The Life of George Washington Carver by ALIKI. Carver often said that a weed is just a flower growing in the wrong place.

Even More Resources for Learning about Seeds, Plants, & Gardening

Seeds of Discovery: Gardening Unit Study for All Ages

Plants & Seeds Lapbook for Elementary Students

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