Learning about Plants

Spring is here! As the days are getting warmer, what better idea than to spend some time in the garden and learn all about plants? Here are a few fun learning activities you have to try!

A good start is to head out and observe plants. Look at the leaves, stems, flowers and roots. Ask your child questions such as – What do plants need to grow, how do plants get their food, why are leaves green? You can add a few fun worksheets from Loving 2 Learn > science > life science > seeds> plants and trees. (Most worksheets are free from this site)

Grow a plant from seeds.

We experimented with apples, lemons, limes, naartjie(citrus), pecan nuts and acorns. To grow apples, lemons, naartjie or limes: remove seeds from fruit and soak in water for a few days. This softens the seed coat and it will germinate easier. You can also plant your acorn or pecan seeds in waterbeads or on a layer of glass beads. Once your plant has two or three leaves, you can transfer them to a pot.

We planted some of ours in a terrarium (old fish tanks that are cracked at the bottom make excellent terrariums) and others in a pot. Your tree should germinate in 4-6 weeks. Place your pot in a sunny spot and remember to water daily but take care, do not overwater.

For our pecan nut, we made a mini “hothouse” out of a cold drink bottle. Do not cover the nut completely and take care not to overwater. You should see green shoots in about 8 weeks and the plant will grow out of the top opening of the “hothouse”.

Grow a plant from a bulb.

Garlic is super easy to grow. Simply place the bulb in water and you should see green shoots within a few days. Once you have a fair amount of shoots, you can transfer them to a pot or the garden.

You can have great fun learning about plants in these easy ways! Do you have favorite ways to learn about plants? Come share them in our Facebook group!