Well, I have found my new favorite craft. This seed art project was full of so much learning for my little ones, but perhaps even more importantly, it was… dare I say, relaxing?
Generally, when we craft with glue and lots of little bits and pieces, things get messy quickly. But with this seed art project, that didn’t happen.
The seeds (mostly) stayed in the sorting dishes. The glue (mostly) stayed on the paper. And it was so quiet with focus, you could hear a pin drop (or a seed).
I was even able to get in there and create some seed art of my own while drinking a tea that stayed (mostly) hot.
I call that a win, my friends!
Seeds and Plants Family Unit Study
This activity is actually one of the hands-on activities from my Seeds and Plants Family Unit Study. In my unit studies, we take one big topic, like Seeds and Plants, and break it down into 10 manageable, bite-sized learning topics. This format gives you the freedom to dive into learning at a pace that works for your family.
Want to take a closer look at a unit study? Grab a sample from Seeds and Plants, which also includes the seed art templates featured in this blog post!
Making Seed Art
For this seed art project, you’ll need:
- An assortment of seeds and dried beans (a soup seed mix gives a nice colorful assortment)
- Glue (white glue works best)
- Template printed on cardstock (or drawn on cardboard)
- Paintbrush, optional
- Mod Podge, optional
We used the printables from my Seed and Plants Family Unit Study printed on cardstock (you can grab them at the start of this blog post). Or, you could draw a simple design on a piece of cardboard to use as your template.
When choosing what seeds to use, keep in mind the ages and skill levels of your children. We used a soup mix that gave a lovely assortment of different types of beans and seeds, as well as a package of white navy beans.
Larger seeds or dried beans are much easier for little hands to pick up and place. They can squeeze a bead of white glue over the outline and place the seeds on top.
Small seeds are wonderful for children that enjoy “working small” and they can also be poured right onto wet glue to cover large areas. A paintbrush is handy to spread the white glue around to fill larger areas.
We used a mix of all of these methods, and each piece of seed art turned out beautifully!
With one of the seed leaves, we tried covering it in Mod Podge to help seal the seeds in place. This was a little bit tricky, as the glue lifted off some of the smaller seeds, but I’m quite happy with the end result! We were able to cut the leaf out to display and everything stayed nice and sturdy and intact.
Seed Art Extension Activities
Throughout this beautiful art project, there is so much learning taking place—sorting, taking turns, fine motor skills, and creativity to name a few.
Learning About Seeds
As part of our unit study, we also learned all about the parts of a seed prior to doing the craft. We learned what seeds need to grow, and that even though seeds are very different from one another (which was reinforced when we made our art!), they have three parts in common: a seed coat, the endosperm, and the embryo. We also learned about the two main types of seeds, dicots, and monocots, and the differences between the two.
All of that information is included in the free sample at the start of this post!
Seed Dissection
A wonderful extension activity after completing your seed art is to dissect some of the seeds. Can you find and name the different parts of the seed? If you plan ahead for this one, soaking seeds in water overnight will help to soften the seat coat, making that dissection quite a bit easier.
If you want even more ideas like this—hands-on activities to learn all about the seeds and plants—you’ll want to check out my Seeds and Plants Family Unit Study. From the plant life cycle to plant adaptations, pollination, and everything in between, your little gardener will love it!
Grab the complete unit study right here:
Seeds and Plants Family Unit Study
Thank you so much for reading, sweet friend,
xo
Sarah
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