Preschool Ideas for Teaching Plants (& Sprouting Seeds)

Every year, I teach the little preschoolers about plants. I draw from my days teaching elementary school, but simplify it for the little ones. (If you are looking for the Apple Star Story- also about plants, here is the link which links to the story. )
I try not to do the same things every year. Here are a few things  we did this year:

 We did this little craft, and song. The song (below) was pasted on the back of the above craft. (sorry the poem/song is blurry-but you should still be able to read it.)

 Sprouting seeds is my favorite activity, and we do this one every year. Last year we sprouted beans and pumpkin seeds. We planted them afterwards (see below) and we actually got pumpkins and beans from both of them!
UPDATE: I have gotten MANY MANY requests for this sprout house. It is in my files and I have used it for over 20 years. However, if you want one, you can go to teachers pay teachers, and set up a free account, and search "sprout house". This is the link for the site:sprouthouses
Also, this works with BEANS- as in bean sprouts. Don't try it with apple seeds or pumpkin seeds. Of course you can get those to sprout too if you wait long enough- and we have done it. It works. But for preschoolers, and even early elementary kids, I use beans-kidney or black beans work best. They sprout in less than a week. Have fun! Thanks for your comments on this post! I hope the above link helps all of you!

 The children are fascinated by this! They love to see what happens to the seeds. We check them a few times a long the way, but after about a week this is what it looked like:

 The seeds we wrapped in a moist paper towel, now have stems, leaves, and roots! It is really fun to see what happens when you water a seed. My kids planted theirs in cans in the backyard. We have been watering them, and giving them what a plant needs and they are growing well.

We also read the book Muncha, Muncha, Muncha, and Tops and Bottoms. Both are fun stories for teaching young children a little about plants.

Thanks for reading! Happy Spring- or early summer- if you live in the Southwest!