Let’s investigate……….
Where do seeds come from?
By: Ailsa Gordon
This simple activity will allow children the opportunity to
explore, investigate and develop their thinking skills.
Provide children with a selection of different fruits and
vegetables with seeds inside, as well as some spoons for
scooping, tweezers for picking and a tray to collect and
explore the seeds. Magnifying glasses can also be included
for some up-close investigation.
When preparing for this activity consider the shape, size
and colour of the fruits and vegetables and how the seeds
will differ from each fruit or vegetable. To make this an exciting
and interesting activity for children, be creative, introduce the
children to fruits and vegetables which may be new to them such as butternut squash, pumpkin, kiwi
fruit or pomegranate. Throughout the activity children can be introduced to mathematical concepts
such as size, shape, weight, length and colour.
Allow the children time and space to explore independently and investigate the fruits, vegetables
and seeds. Remember, for some children this may be the first time they have had this opportunity
and the experience may be very new to them.
After the children have explored the seeds, this activity can be extended to introduce the concept
of planting and growing and caring for their environment. The seeds can be dried in the sun and
planted in soil in small pots. The children can take care of their plants
and monitor the growth over a period of time.
For another activity idea, why not dip the fruit and
vegetables in paint and print with them. This activity
allows children to express their creativity as well as further
developing their mathematical and investigation skills