Family and Children ·
Preschool Nature Activities: Seeds and Compost in Class
Hello dear friends. 🌱 Today I would like to tell you about the seed work we do with little ones at schools. At one of the schools we visited, a big banner hung on the wall: “Little hands meet the soil, heirloom seeds meet life.” That sentence sums up our work beautifully. On the table, the cucumber, tomato, pepper and chard seeds each have their own jar. The children pick the seeds up with their fingers and sow them one by one into the trays. The watering, with a small watering can, is their job too. Those tiny hands hold each seed with great care.
We also plant seedlings in the wooden raised beds of the school garden. The children carry their seedlings as if they were holding something precious, and place them in the soil with great care. Each time, I see again the quiet happiness on the face of a child who touches the soil.
You do not need a big garden for nature activities in preschool. A tray of soil, a few large seeds and a little patience are enough. And the seed teaches the patience itself: you wait, you look, and one morning the sprout is there. I gathered the steps that work best in these workshops, in a form teachers can use in their own classroom, wherever it is. How do you make room for nature in your classroom?
1. Getting to know the seed
To get to know the seed, we first hold it. We smell it, look at its size and colour, and guess together which vegetable it belongs to. When I tell the children that a whole plant is sleeping inside that tiny grain in their palm, their eyes grow wide. Large seeds such as squash, beans and peas are easier for small hands. If you put the vegetable itself on the table too, the children make the connection at once.
2. Sowing in trays and sprouting
For sowing in trays, we fill trays or small pots with soil, and each child sows their own seed. Writing their name on the pot builds a sense of ownership; children love saying “my seed”. Checking the soil with a finger every day and adding a little water when it is dry is a lovely responsibility for them. This is how they learn, almost as a game, to care for a living thing. On the day the sprout appears, you can hold a small celebration in class.
To make sprouting visible, try the classic bean in a jar experiment. Line the inside of a jar with a damp paper towel and slip a bean between the glass and the paper. The children can watch the root and the shoot come out through the glass. Seeing with their own eyes what usually happens quietly under the soil feels like a little magic to them.
3. A mini compost in the classroom
The easiest way to explain a mini compost in the classroom is to show it. In a clear container with a lid, we layer soil, dry leaves and fruit and vegetable peels. Over the weeks we watch together how it changes. Seeing a peel we thought was rubbish turn back into soil is the loveliest way to show that nothing is wasted in nature. We do not add meat, dairy or oily food. Keeping the container in a well aired corner makes things easier.
Points we keep in mind
The points we keep in mind are simple but important when working with small hands:
- Small seeds can go into mouths. With the youngest groups we choose large seeds and stay close throughout the activity.
- Everyone washes their hands well after working with soil and compost.
- It is good to talk with families in advance about the seeds and plants we will use for children with allergies.
- We keep the activity short for the age group, so curiosity and attention stay alive.
Let us do it together at your school
When we do this together at your school, I like to open with a story, because a story gathers children’s attention easily. In the Şifa Köyü book series, the heroes are the real people and vegetables of the farm. At schools we first read together, then put the seed trays on the table. It is lovely to see their surprise when they hold the seed of a vegetable they have just met in the story. The set also has an English edition, A Year Full of Surprises in Şifa Köyü. The shop is in Turkish and delivers within Turkey.
If you teach in Istanbul and would like to do these activities together, I can come to your school. We plan where to hold it and the materials together with the school, and sometimes the school provides soil and trays itself. You can also bring your class to Şifa Köyü, our organic farm in Şile on the Black Sea coast of Istanbul. There the day holds a greenhouse walk, seed sowing and painting under the pergola. The children spend time in nature, pet our animals and see with their own eyes where a seed becomes a vegetable. The produce we grow there from heirloom seeds holds EU-approved organic farming certification. This work is not only for the little ones; we do an age-adapted version with middle school, high school and university students too. Write to us and let us plan the programme together.
I would be so happy if you shared a photo of the first sprout in your classroom with me. Every moment little hands meet the soil is a big joy for me. With love. 💛
Şifa Köyü shop: books (in Turkish) →
Frequently asked questions
Which age group are these activities for?
Getting to know seeds and sowing them work well with preschool children. With older students we go deeper into planting in the garden and observing compost, and we adapt it for middle school, high school and university groups too.
What materials do I need?
Trays or small pots, soil, large seeds, a water cup and a clear lidded container for compost. All of them are easy to find, and when we come to your school we plan the materials together.
Can we do this without a school garden?
Yes. Sowing in trays and sprouting in a jar work inside the classroom. Schools with a garden can plant the seedlings out later.
How can I pair the activity with a book?
Read a story together first, then bring out the seed trays. In the Şifa Köyü books the heroes are the farm’s real people and vegetables, so the link comes naturally.
Can you come to our school in Istanbul?
Yes, I come to your school. Write to us with the age group, the number of classes and the date you have in mind, and we will get back to you.