This is a fun activity to try alongside The Earth Book by Todd Parr, paired with an Earth learning theme. You can also read What Does It Mean to Be Green for this week. All of the activities are wonderful ways to celebrate Earth Day on April 22nd.
Growing Grass: A Fun and Easy Earth Day Themed Preschool Science Activity
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We have grown grass as a preschool science activity for years now. Grass is easy and fun to grow, making it the perfect preschooler science activity. The year I took these photos (2009), the grass even survived three-year-old Emma and one-year-old Johnny dumping out the cups of newly-planted grass seeds and then throwing everything back in topsy-turvy.
Materials Needed for Growing Grass
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Fill cup with soil, leaving at least 1 inch of clearance at the top.
Add a thin layer of grass seeds.
Cover the grass seeds with a small amount of soil.
Water.
Place in a sunny area.
Wait for seeds to grow.
Grass is the perfect plant for preschool botany, because it is incredibly hardy. This year is the perfect illustration of this hardiness, because Emma’s cup of grass seed was dumped all over the floor within an hour of being planted.
I swept up the dirt and dumped it back into its cup. I thought it wouldn’t grow, but I was wrong. Here is the poor destroyed grass plant surviving five days later:
And thriving two weeks later. You have to look twice to tell which cup was dumped out and which one was left alone!
Kids love giving their grass plants “haircuts” – perfect for practicing scissor skills.
More Earth Day Learning Activities
Here are some more wonderful Earth Day themed learning activities for preschoolers!
Did you know that plants crave sunlight so much that they will bend to follow it? Kids love this simple visual phototropism plant science experiment, and it’s one of our favorite simple experiments for kids.
A simple introduction to plant biology for kids, plus more garden-themed learning activities that pair beautifully with picture books listed in the post.
Grass is easy and fun to grow, making it the perfect preschooler science activity. This post also features other Earth Day themed learning activities for preschoolers.
What is your favorite way to celebrate Earth Day with kids?
MaryAnne lives is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
This is such a cool idea! Green power!! :)
I have some grass growing outside that needs a “haircut.” :)
A lovely way to celebrate Earth Day!!
This is a cool idea even for apartment living!
And if you draw faces on the cups, it’s even more like you’re giving a hair cut.
I love that idea! Googley eyes would be fun, too!
Cute! I should give this a try. I think my kids would LOVE it.
Wow, that grew really fast! What a neat activity! Our tomato seeds started to sprout, and I cannot wait to get out and do some gardening soon!
We really need to do that. Lewis would LOVE it (especially the grass haircutting part).
We are growing (from seeds) a little basil and mint in pots on the windowsill. Abby loves to check the progress every day!
veru cool! I have been wanting to do this with Noah! Thanks for reminding me!
That looks like fun, but I cant find those clear cups, where did you get yours?