Why Spring Time Is A Great Time For Studying Life Cycles Of Plants And Animals

Spring is fast approaching and that means flowers poking up out of the earth, trees blossoming, grass getting green and lush again and kids wanting to get outside to play. This is the perfect time to start thinking about new science units that focus on life cycles, planting things, and watching baby animals as they start their lives and grow.

Planting seeds is a great way to help kids understand how we get a variety of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. This is the perfect season to start seedlings in the classroom as well. This has always been a great activity for my students.

There are many different ways to plant the seeds and watch them grow. Check out this post to see some examples.

Taking the seedlings and planting them outside in the late spring is an event worth celebrating. If you have garden plots at the school, it is a fun way to keep monitoring and tending to them as they grow. Kids get so excited when the first fruits appear. I still have kids reminding me of the beans and tomatoes they grew when they were in my class.

Beans, radishes, lettuce, and other plants tend to grow fairly quickly. Other plants take longer and will require more patience as kids wait to harvest them. This is a great time to talk about how not everything progresses at the same rate. 
If you are looking at planting other types of fruit or vegetables, check out my plant life cycles bundle. It includes apples, carrots, pumpkins, potatoes, and beans. 

Watching baby chicks hatch, releasing salmon fry, observing the metamorphosis of butterflies from caterpillar to butterfly, or the transformation of a tadpole to a frog are awe inspiring sights for kids and they get so excited during these events. 

​Choosing an animal to observe from it's start through to adulthood is a great hands on unit that helps kids understand how life cycles work. Check out my animal life cycles bundle for resources that may help if you are interested in studying about chickens, frogs, salmon, honey bees, or butterflies.

Check out this life cycle template freebie that helps with identifying the different stages of growth for plants or animals.

Grab your life cycle freebie here

Deciding on what plant life cycles or animal life cycles you will study will depend on the interests of your students and the availability of resources and time. ​Whatever life cycles you choose to investigate, enjoy the moments and the excitement and wonder as your students learn.

Related Posts