Seed Study Continued

We love collecting over here. Rocks, sticks, leaves, and then seeds was our newest idea. I wrote awhile back about one of our many visits to the New Canaan Nature Center where we collected various things. One of the things we searched for and collected on that trip were items that held seeds. Once home, we examined them and then displayed them for future study. After collecting a few more items with the boys on another walk, I set up a little discovery project on their table. The boys were in love with and fascinated by the cattails and how they had changed over the seasons, so I placed one and its seeds on the table along with some sweetgum pods and seeds. Those spiky sweetgum seed pods are another favorite. They end up everywhere in our home, car, bags, and jackets!

So, I set up the cattail seeds and sweetgum pods and seed on the table with some magnifying glasses. I was curious as to see what the boys would say.

We noticed the different sizes and how they looked different and how they felt different. The seeds from the cattails came from the outside of the plant and might have been blown off of the plant or hitched a ride on another animal (we experimented with seed dispersal over here) while the sweetgum seeds fell out when we tapped banged the pods on the table.

This may have been our favorite part. The seeds ended up everywhere.

Then, Arthur had the idea that we should put the seeds on a different colored piece of paper “so that we can see them better.” George chose pink.

The boys loved how some of the seeds were hard and probably fell to the ground to grow, while the other ones were “so soft” and probably moved on the wind to find “new homes”. What a great quick and easy little discovery!

What sort of seed studies do you do? Please share, for I am always looking for more!