Hands-On Learning Fun with Plants

Now that plants are in full bloom for many of us, it’s a great time to use them for some hands-on learning fun. Grab the kids and head outside to gather some materials. You’ll be learning about plants, experimenting with them, growing them in fun new ways, and even exercising your creative muscle with some artistic plant projects. 

Learning About Plants

Here’s a fun hands-on project to begin with. Your kids may know from reading books that plants grow toward the light and that they need light to grow. But what if they could see it in action? This DIY Plant Light Maze project will amaze your kids and teens as their plant grows around obstacles to find the light! While it might only take 30 minutes to build your maze, it will take some patience to watch the bean plant work around obstacles. But this is a fun project for the whole family! 

Tuck this idea away to use in a few months when the leaves start changing colors. Your curious kids will love the Leaf Color Experiment for learning about chlorophyll and how it masks the underlying colors of the leaves.

Here are a few more hands-on projects to help your kids learn about plants:

• Plants Life Cycles Cut & Paste
• FREE Plants and Gardening Learning Pack
• Learning About Plants – FREE Printables

Experimenting with Plants

Your young kids will love the Sink or Flat Nature Experiment. It’s a great outdoor activity for loads of educational summer fun. It’s a great excuse for a nature walk to gather some supplies. Then, once you’re home with a variety of sticks, rocks, leaves, and flowers, grab a bucket of water and let your toddler experiment.

Here are some additional hands-on activities for your younger learners:

• Simple Seed Activities for Young Learners
• Messy Sensory Activities You Can Do Outside
• Pollen Transfer Fine Motor Activity for Preschoolers
• Sensory Science Activity – The Seeds We Eat

Growing Plants

Learning with plants wouldn’t quite be complete without some projects that include growing plants! But let’s have more fun than simply throwing a seed into a pot, shall we? Here are three creative ideas that your kids will love while learning how plants grow.

First, even your young kids will have fun growing Egghead Plants. Simply plant the grass seed into empty eggshells and add some funny faces with permanent marker. Watch the “hair” grow on your eggheads, then plant them in the ground if you wish. The egg shells function as biodegradable seed-starter pots.

For another fun option, try growing grass seed indoor on a sponge. This is a great way to grow plants if you’re tight on outdoor growing space. Or, to kick things up a notch with the sponge idea, why not go all-out and create a Sprout Sculpture? By gluing multiple sponges together, your kids can create a large landscape of growing seeds. Then, learn how a greenhouse works by setting the sculpture under a plastic container in the sun until the seeds start to sprout. Your kids will learn how to keep the seeds moist as they continue to grow. 

Creative Plant Projects

Finally, head outside with the family and encourage everyone to find the Nature’s Alphabet. Document the adventure with photos of each letter you find in nature. Your older kids can see if they can take photos of Nature’s Alphabet, then print the photos into a book for your younger children. It’s a fun way to get creative with plants.

Here are more creative outdoor projects to try:

• Create a Learning Environment Outdoors
• FREE Hiking Journal for Children Plus Tips for Getting Kids Outdoors
• Fun Outdoor Crafts for Kids: DIY Wind Chimes
• Easy Leaf Doodle Craft