Children explore sunflower seeds as they create sunflower seed cookies and plant seeds to observe as they grow.

Sunflower Seeds

LESSON 2

  • Sunflower seeds for planting

  • Small glass jar

  • Cotton balls

  • Water

  • Sunflower seeds in their shell for snacking

We decided to halve this recipe and it still made plenty! But we ended up loving these cookies so much we were sad we didn’t make the full batch. The recipe below will make 3 dozen.

  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature

  • 2 cups brown sugar

  • 2 eggs

  • 2 teaspoons vanilla

  • 2 cups flour

  • 2 cups old fashioned oats

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1 1/2 cups raw sunflower seeds

Recipe found here.

Materials

  • Gather materials

  • Plan a nature walk to find and collect sunflowers or a visit to the grocery store.

Preparations

  • Lead a discussion about sunflower seeds.

  • Demonstrate how to crack open a sunflower seed, guiding and encouraging children to try it independently.

  • Guide the children through the baking process, following the provided recipe to make sunflower seed cookies collaboratively.

  • Initiate a conversation about seed growth, using open-ended questions to prompt children's critical thinking and understanding of the seed's needs for growth.

  • Facilitate children through the seed experiment by helping them prepare their glass jar with cotton balls and sunflower seeds.

Objectives for Teachers

  • Children participate in a discussion about sunflower seeds.

  • Children engage in a hands-on activity by learning how to crack open a sunflower seed.

  • Children follow a simple recipe to bake sunflower seed cookies.

  • Children practice kitchen hygiene

  • Children practice mixing and measuring ingredients.

  • Children identify the key elements needed for the sunflower seed to grow successfully.

  • Children foster a sense of responsibility and care for the growing seeds.

Objectives for Children

Collect and Connect

  • Practice some simple yoga and movement poses together. Some ideas here!

  • Practice saying the poem with the actions you came up with.

Sunflower

Sunflower, sunflower turn toward the sky

Grow like a beanstalk, 10 feet high

Large golden petals, center full of seeds

Give hungry birds, the food they need

Activity Flow

  1. Start the activity by presenting a small bowl of edible sunflower seeds to your child, and ask if they know what is in the bowl. Build on the sunflower theme by discussing the sunflower poem and ask who might enjoy eating sunflower seeds. Share that many animals and people eat these tasty seeds.

  2. Demonstrate how to crack open a sunflower seed to reveal its kernel, and then encourage your child to try it as well.

  3. Now it is time to bake a yummy treat using sunflower seeds. Follow the recipe here, and work together to make sunflower seed cookies!

  4. While the cookies bake, engage your child with an exciting question: What do you think will happen if we plant the sunflower seed? Will it grow into corn or maybe a beanstalk? Take this opportunity to discuss how seeds don't grow into just anything, and because it's a sunflower seed, it will become a sunflower.

  5. Engage your child in a conversation about seeds and their growth process. Begin by asking them if they know what a seed needs to grow into a plant. Allow them to express their thoughts, and gently guide them with further questions towards the answer.

  • What does a seed need from the ground to grow?

  • What provides warmth to the seed so it can grow?

  • Can you think of something that gives the seed the moisture it needs?

Encourage their active participation and help them discover that seeds need soil, warmth (usually from the sun), and water to thrive and grow into plants.

6. While the cookies cool, let's have some fun with a sunflower seed growing experiment! Take a moment to tell your child about this exciting activity. Get a small glass jar and ask your child to fill it up with cotton balls. Explain to them that the cotton balls will act like soil, absorbing water and keeping the seeds moist. Using a clear glass jar with cotton balls will make it easier to observe the seeds.

7. Next, carefully place a few sunflower seeds from a seed packet around the inside of the glass jar. Press them against the glass so you can easily watch their transformation as they grow. Choose a sunny window to place your jar, and now the waiting game begins. Enjoy the process of watching the seeds sprout and grow.

8. Enjoy eating your sunflower seed cookies!