Finding leaves on a botany scavenger hunt
This is the culminating activity we did after a 4 week hands-on unit study on botany/plants. Children went on a fun-filled scavenger hunt for a variety of plants, and afterward had a plant-themed picnic lunch. Also included are the field trips we went on during our botany unit study.
Botany Scavenger Hunt
Botany scavenger hunt worksheets and the findings from one group
- After studying botany/plants for 3-4 weeks, the children get to go on a fun scavenger hunt for a variety of plant specimens. Each child or pair of children received a copy of this botany scavenger hunt worksheet and had 30 minutes to find as many specimens as they could from the list. You will need to hold this scavenger hunt in an area where children can actually collect plants. Younger children (ages 5 and under) may need assistance from an adult. In addition to the botany scavenger hunt, we also had a contest for who could find the largest leaf.
YOU WILL NEED PER CHILD:
- 1 copy of this botany scavenger hunt worksheet, & a large plastic bag
- After the scavenger hunt, each child pulled out their specimens and reported what they had found (i.e. a simple lobed leaf).
- Before passing out prizes, we read a short story on some of the products of trees, focusing on chewing gum (which used to be made from sapodilla trees), on chocolate (which is still made from the fruit of the cacao tree), and on tree nuts. Children got to choose from chewing gum and chocolate (both with and without almonds). They got one piece for every 10 points they earned.
YOU WILL NEED PER CHILD:
- prizes such as gum, Hershey’s kisses, and Hershey’s kisses with almonds
Plant-Themed Picnic Lunch
Plant-themed picnic lunch with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, celery sticks, and more
After the scavenger hunt, we had a plant-themed picnic lunch. We had:
- peanut butter & jelly sandwiches
- a fruit tray
- a vegetable tray
- potato chips
- lemonade
- pumpkin spice cookies
Field Trips: Park & Nursery
Visiting a local nursery
During our botany/plant unit, we visited local green house, hiked a trail through a local state park, and toured the yard of a person who grows exotic fruit trees (and sent us home with some fruit samples).
Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification with Thomas J. Elpel
Looking for the lessons in this unit study?
Go on a seed hunt, act out germination, create seed mosaics, make and eat a plant parts salad, dissect a flower, decorate sunflower cookies, compete in a photosynthesis relay race, got on a plant scavenger hunt, and more during this fun four part unit study on Botany and Plants!
- Seeds Lesson – This is part 1 of a 5 part unit study on Botany and Plants. Go on a seed hunt, act out germination, create seed mosaics, make and eat a plant parts salad, and more in this fun lesson on plants!
- Flowers Lesson – Go on a flower hunt, dissect a flower, create edible flowers, paint flowers, and more in this fun lesson on flowers! This is part 2 of a 5 part unit study on Botany and Plants.
- Bee & Honey Lesson – This is part 3 of a 5 part unit study on Botany and Plants. (This lesson is optional if you need to squeeze this unit into 4 parts rather than 5.) Dance like a bee, make edible bees using honey balls, use cheese puff balls and and juice boxes to dramatize pollination, create pipe cleaner bees and have them fly to the tune of Flight of the Bumblebee, and more!
- Roots & Stems Lesson – This is part 4 of a 5 part unit study on Botany and Plants. Observe roots and stems, observe transpiration in action and dramatize it, create a plants part salad, and more in this fun, hands-on lesson on roots and stems and transpiration!
- Trees & Leaves Lesson – This is part 5 of a 5 part unit study on Botany and Plants. Play a photosynthesis relay race, create an edible leaf structure, act out the parts of a tree, examine and classify tree leaves and use them to identify trees, and more in this fun, hands-on lesson on leaves and trees!
- Botany Scavenger Hunt & Field Trip Ideas – This is the culminating activity we did after a 5 week hands-on unit study on botany/plants. Children went on a fun-filled scavenger hunt for a variety of plants, and afterward had a plant-themed picnic lunch. Also included are the field trips we went on while studying this unit on botany and plants.
- All of my Fun, FREE Hands-on Science Unit Studies & Lessons – Fun, free hands-on Science unit studies and lessons – Learning through Doing: Experiments, Cooking, Dramatizations, Edible Projects, Games, Crafts – Astronomy, Geology, Biology, Plants, Genetics, CSI, Human Anatomy, Simple Machines, Electricity, Earth Science, Fossils, Weather, Five Senses, & Ecology
KONOS Curriculum
KONOS Volume I
Would you like to teach this way every day?
I use KONOS Curriculum to help when planning my unit studies. It’s an excellent Christian curriculum and was written by two moms who had active children! The lessons from this unit study on plants and botany are based on the lessons found in the unit studies on Patience and Orderliness in KONOS Volume I.
© 2013 Shannon
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