Sunflowers in Spring
Posted in Primary
Why not get green-fingered this spring and grow some sunflowers! It’s really easy and can make a great project that ties into science, maths, art and more.
Here are just a few maths activities you can do with sunflowers.
Younger children can…
- count the leaves and petals
- practise measuring with a ruler (height, leaf size, width of flower head)
- put the seedlings in size order
- practise using comparative language such as taller/shorter.
Older children can…
- keep a diary of the sunflower’s growth and then choose ways to display the data
- share their results with classmates and find the average height of their sunflowers
- use sunflowers and other flowers to talk about symmetry
- make scale drawings of their sunflowers.
You will need:
- Sunflower seeds
- Containers (these could be old yoghurt pots, plastic cups, margarine tubs, or seed trays if you want to look professional!)
- Water
- Compost
- Patience
Make sure you get the right variety of sunflower seeds, if you want to keep them indoors or in a small garden a dwarf variety is better.
Fill your container ¾ full with compost. Place a seed on top and lightly cover with a few centimetres of compost. Add a little water and place in a sunny spot, such as a windowsill. Water regularly to keep the soil moist.
After a few weeks your seeds should sprout. Once the seedlings are big enough to handle easily (at least 10cm tall) you can either transfer them to a larger pot or plant them in the ground (in a sunny spot). Remember to keep watering them regularly. They might need loosely tying to a bamboo cane or fence once they get taller to stop them falling over.
Here at MyMaths we’re growing our own sunflowers and having a competition to see whose is tallest. We’ll be putting up some pictures to show how it’s going. We’d love to see photos or drawings of your sunflower growing (mail@mymaths.co.uk). Have fun!
Did you know…?
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the tallest sunflower was a whopping 8.03m tall, that’s as high as a house! It was grown in Germany in 2009 by Hans-Peter Schiffer.