Cultural: Lifecycle of a seed

Children always enjoy the ‘lifecycle of a seed’ lesson (especially poignant in the spring) because of the many exciting and tactile ways in which the learning can be applied and extended.

There are the five stages of plant life cycle: the seed, germination, growth, reproduction, pollination and seed spreading stages. In a typical Montessori lesson, we will use printed cards with vibrant pictures to explain the lifecycle. Have a look at the below tutorial by My Montessori Works:

Each card illustrates the different stages in the lifecycle, and can easily be made at home as per the following explanation (articulated in the video):

• To make them grow, plants need soil, water and sun. We grow flowers and vegetables in our gardens.
• We can buy seeds. We plant the seeds. Rain falls on the seeds. Sun shines on the seeds.
• The seeds begin to grow. The roots grow down. The shoot grows up.
• The plants grow into the air and light. Flower buds grow on the plants.
• The flower buds open. The flowers are beautiful.
• Seeds grow on the plant. When the flowers die the seeds dry and fall to the earth.

…and then the cycle starts all over again.

Once you’ve explained the processes to your child, you can start thinking about some fun follow up exercises: drawing the lifecycle of a seed, creating a seed book and/or planting a seed and watching it grow.

There are so many ways to make this lesson fun. If you would like some ideas, feel free to contact us at info@saintandrewsmontessori.com. We’re happy to answer any questions.