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Talking about looking after plants and animals

When we talk and learn together with our children about plants and animals, we are supporting them to understand that all living things need to be cared for and nurtured. Children are often fascinated by this; we offer some ideas and suggestions here as to how you might foster their interest and curiosity. These conversations can help you to move on to talking about what children need to grow and develop, and when you are both ready, to think about human reproduction.

Finding out about plants, fruit and vegetables

From an early age we can introduce a variety of products to taste and eat together. We can explore what is eaten raw and what needs to be cooked. Of course, there will be lots of things on display in the supermarket – including things we night not necessarily buy, play name that veg!

If you are lucky enough to know someone with an allotment – or maybe there are allotments near you with friendly owners – a visit can be fun.

Then there is the question: What’s the difference between a fruit and a vegetable? The simplest answer is that fruits have seeds and they grow from the flower of the plant. Fruits are the way that a plant spreads its seeds for reproduction. Vegetables are the edible part of a plant, like the root or the stem or the leaf.

Pot broad beans in jars/life cycle of a plant.

This is a simple way to talk and learn about the life cycle of plants. With your child rinse a clean jam jar, leaving the jar wet inside. Put a folded piece of kitchen roll and press it up against the glass. Put a broad bean seed between the kitchen roll and glass and leave on the windowsill. Add a spoonful of water every day, keeping the jar moist but not waterlogged. After a few days the bean should sprout. After a couple of weeks, the seedling can be planted into a 10cm pot of compost or open ground. As the plants get bigger, they will need supported with stakes. At about 75cm high snip off the top and wait for your harvest.

Birdbox/Birdfeeder

On a balcony, the windowsill, or in a garden build and set up a birdbox or install a birdfeeder, feed the birds throughout the year and watch and record (names, drawings or photos) which birds come to visit.

Go birdwatching: Go birdwatching (rspb.org.uk)

Lifecycle of the butterfly and the frog

If you have been talking and learning about how a plant starts (from a seed) and then grows, this is the life cycle of a plant. You can also think about how insect and animal life start, grow and develop.

Butterflies

  • An adult butterfly lays an egg.
  • The egg hatches to a caterpillar (larva).
  • The caterpillar forms a chrysalis or pupa.
  • The chrysalis matures into a butterfly.

The life cycle of a butterfly https://youtu.be/O1S8WzwLPlM (duration 5 minutes 15 seconds). When you watch something together on YouTube set the film up to make sure it is what you want to see and skip adverts.

Frogs

  • The female frog lays eggs and the male frog fertilises them.
  • The eggs hatch and become early tadpoles
  • Then the tadpoles grow and become froglets
  • Then the little froglets become frogs.

The life cycle of the frog https://youtu.be/FIXoJYbBls0 (duration 5 minutes 6 seconds) This film has text but no narrator so you might want to read together. 

Looking after pets

Many children would like to have a pet. Whether you can or not will of course depend on where you live and taking into consideration the costs and time needed. Any potential for pet ownership could be thought through by doing a project together on the animal of interest – using the library and internet to find out more about the animal and its needs.

Take a look together at this film and game: RSPCA “What do pets need?” https://youtu.be/FOLP8p0jSoA (3 minutes 37) and the BBC’s Furry Friends game: Want to look after your own furry friend? Choose a pet and make sure they are entertained, exercised and well rested: Furry Friends – CBBC

Books

You might like to read these books together. Your library might have them, or you can ask them if they will order a book for you.

Let’s Get Gardening

DK
ISBN 978-0241382639

Learn to grow your own vegetables and herbs, attract wildlife such as butterflies and bees, and be a green gardener with lots of recycling tips. Whether you’ve got a big vegetable patch or just a windowsill, you can grow all sorts of plants with this colourful RHS book.

The Pocketbook of Garden Experiments

Helen Pilcher
ISBN 978-1472976307

This book has 80 experiments to discover and enjoy with easy-to-follow instructions for activities to stretch the imagination and bring out your inner scientist. Examples include making an ecosystem in a jar, finding out why leaves change colour, turning potatoes into slime, how to calculate the heights of trees and how to make a sound map of your garden. Each experiment takes inspiration from the natural world and the fascinating things that live in it.

Pet Selector! A hilarious guide to all the usual and unusual household pets

Russell Kane
ISBN 978-0711290181

Russell knows loads about pets, as he’s got four of his own. And he believes that when choosing a pet, personality is the most important thing. Pet Selector! is both a practical guide to finding a pet and a hugely entertaining account of pet personalities.

First Big Book of Pets (National Geographic Kids)

Catherine D. Hughes
ISBN 978-1426334702

Whether cats, dogs, guinea pigs, birds, fish, snakes or others, this reference book introduces kids to a wide variety of family-friendly pets. Readers learn which kinds of animals make good pets and which ones are better off staying in the wild, along with how each type of pet eats, sleeps, and plays.