Make a Collection

Materials

• camera
• clipboard and pencil
• small paper bags or sealable plastic bags

Key Science Concepts

• There are many different types of plants and seeds.
• It is important to treat the environment with respect and care.

Vocabulary

Encourage children to use words about plants like leaves, flowers, branches, and stems, and encourage math process words like sorting, categories, and collections.

Directions

Tell children they’re going to make a collection of things they find outdoors—the way the children in this morning’s video did.   

1. Give children paper bags and tell them to make a collection of things from plants and trees.   
2. While still outside, invite them to sort the things they found into categories—seeds, twigs, leaves, for example.
3. Take photographs of what they sorted.  Ask them to describe their collections and take notes.
4. Have children select items they want to bring back inside and place those back in  their bag.  Explain that they will be using these items tomorrow for an art project.
5. Ask children to collect additional leaves, bark, and seeds for the Leaf and Bark Rubbing learning center and the Seed Museum. 
6. Write children’s names on the bags and store them.   

Reflect and Share

Once inside, ask children to describe the items in their bags.