Clairbourn School: Life Cycles of Plants – Seed Studies
Kindergarteners are learning about the life cycles of plants. Several classroom activities have centered around the nature of seeds—what they are, what changes occur when they’re soaked in water, and how a plant can emerge under the right conditions.
One experiment involved students putting soaked Lima beans in paper towels under a grow-light at the science station, and they are watching daily to see if they sprout. The children love watering the seeds and can’t wait to plant them when they’re ready to go in the ground.
Another activity focused on scientific prediction and observation where students looked for seeds inside different fruits. Everyone picked a fruit of their choice, estimated the number of seeds inside, and then cut it open (with pumpkin knives) and counted the seeds 
to verify their predictions. Some fruit had too many seeds to count. The class made a book that cataloged the fruit and listed the individual results.
The students also planted a little garden outside on the patio where they are growing carrots, peas, a tomato plant, radishes, and flowers. They also cut open an apple and planted the seeds inside to see if a tree would grow.
Now that the Kindergarteners are so attuned to the presence and power of seeds, they’re finding them everywhere around campus. An ash tree, which prolifically produces seed pods, delighted the children with piles of pods for them to scoop up and fling into the air.
Students observed how each seed pod has its own “wing” that helps the seed be dispersed by the wind into the environment to start new trees in other locations. Their favorite part of the activity is watching the ash seeds spin around as they descend to the ground.
View the photos of students interacting with ash tree seed pods here.
Clairbourn School, 8400 Huntington Drive, San Gabriel, (626) 286-3108 or visit www.clairbourn.org.
