Saving Seeds – Plant Science

Over the last year, we have been working on our garden clearing the rubbish and reducing the head high weeds down to the soil. We’re ready now as it is approaching winter to build in our beds, sort of the paths and prepare for spring. But growing things can be expensive so when the theme for this weeks 2nd Grade blogging team came up as Harvest I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to Harvest some of our own seeds and learn to plant science at the same time.

Learning Objectives

• Can describe how seeds and bulbs grow into plants.

Materials Needed

A selection of vegetables and fruit with seeds in

Knife

Small Envelopes

Pen

Step by Step

We received a fantastic vegetable box last week full of different varieties of squash – and the kids upon seeing them wanted to know how we could “grow” our own.

Luckily they are good gardeners and we have been growing our quick and easy plants with them since they were very little. But despite knowing that plants come from seeds – and that seeds are part of the plants they were a little unsure of how they come to grow unless they come from a packet.

Squash a seasonal autumn vegetable and one harvested at this time of the year and in our temperate climate in the south of the UK throughout the winter as long as it’s not a hard winter is perfect for seed saving and then to grow in the spring to eat and try more recipes.

We cut into a pumpkin as a well as spaghetti squash and looked at the flesh, the insides and explored the seeds.

To make it safe I made the first incision and then the kids held the knife whilst we cut around the top of the pumpkin.

Whilst you are growing the seeds why not read a book about seeds with your toddlers and preschoolers.

They then used a scoop to remove the seeds.

With the spaghetti squash, we cut the squash into chunks and then scooped out the seeds from the inside.

With the seeds scooped out have a close look at them.

Throughout the winter some of the seeds will start to germinate within the squash and have little shoots coming out of the top of the seeds. This is ideal to talk about how to plant the seeds so that where the shoot comes up from is towards the light.

We then looked at saving the seeds – washing them in cold water to clean off the flesh of the squash and pumpkin.

Then removing those seeds that had already started to shoot.

Placing them on a kitchen towel on a baking tray and leaving in a cool dry place for 3 – 4 days.

Once the seeds were dry collecting them off the paper towels and placing them in a small brown envelope (so that it is dark inside) and labeling with what they can from and when they were collected.

Seeds like this can last for up to 6 years if stored in a cool dry place.

Other Harvest themed learning ideas for Early Elementary Children.

Hearty Vegetable Soup from Crafty Kids at Home

Saving Seeds – Plant Science from Rainy Day Mum

Scarecrow Glyph from Still Playing School

Mental Math adding 10’s and 100’s from Sugar Aunts

Free Printable Skip Counting Puzzles: Harvest Theme from Life Over C’s