Kids love to tinker and take things apart but you don’t have to stick to mechanical things they can take apart natural things too. This is a great nature activity for a rainy summer day when you still want to explore but can’t do it outside. Our bouquet was starting to wilt so I decided to grab it off the hearth and gather some tools to dissect it with. My three year old was slow to get into it but once she did the exploration was a hit.
Gather your materials. You will need some flowers with leaves and stems, a cutting board, plain white paper, a rolling pin or brayer roller, tweezers, and scissors.
Start by setting up the lab. Make it inviting. There is no wrong way to do this but creating an inviting set up can peak your child’s interest much more than if you just say ” Want to take apart some flowers?”. I put the lab on our coffee table and just left it alone waiting for her to decide it was time to explore.
The tweezers drew her attention right away. She pulled petals off and I was giddy looking at how she was using and strengthening her fine motor skills.
Next she made some prints by squishing the petals between the paper and using the brayer on it. Opening the paper to reveal the color left by pressing the flower into the paper.
She took her time taking these flowers apart. The buds were especially interesting.
The finale was cutting. She loves scissors and cutting the different textures was interesting and we talked about why some parts for the flower was easier to cut than others.
Books About Flowers
Here are a few of my very favorite books about flowers. For a longer list check our Flower Book List here. All of our book lists contain affiliate links.
The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle is a story about a tiny seed who unlike the other seeds from his flower makes it against all odds to continue the cycle of life. I really enjoy this book and love how it shows all the obstacles along the way for a simple little seed. My children both really like this book and I like how it connects kids to nature.
Zinnia’s Flower Garden by Monica Wellington is really useful not just about teaching about flowers and gardens, but also about patience and the annual cycle of a garden. Zinnia plants and waits, waters, enjoys her flowers, then they die, she collects the seeds and plans her garden for next year. I love that the main story is perfect for my almost three year old but there is much more for older children with longer attention spans. There is a little journal with notes about what’s happening with her garden, and various facts about plants as well. Like in so many of her books the author celebrates hard work and her characters take great pride in what they do. A fantastic message for readers, big and little. I also love the mix of illustration and photographs in this book especially, it gives the illustrations depth and a really interesting look.
Sarah says
Great idea! I “dissect” flowers with my second grade science class each spring during our plant unit. You pose some great questions I will incorporate into my activity. Thanks!