Flower Anatomy

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Flowers attract insects to spread pollen from plant to plant, are food for many insects and animals, can be used as medicine, or for cleaning. Or something more simple like decorating our lives and improving our mood. 

Learning about a flower’s anatomy is a perfect way to introduce your preschooler to how important flowers are to our environment. Read on for how to teach your child all about flowers and be sure to grab the free flower anatomy printable at the bottom of this post.

Why should you teach all about flowers to your child?

Firstly, children are fascinated by their environment. The world around them is full of curiosities and naturally a child craves to understand their surroundings. Also, flowers are an important part of our world. They provide all types of animals with food, us with medicines, and overall improve air quality. In short, flowers are more than simply beautiful.

Because of all these amazing uses and benefits, flowers deserve attention. Our child needs to learn all about flowers so that they too can appreciate their usefulness beyond beauty and fragrance.

Learn all about flowers.

All about flowers’ usefulness to humans.

Certain flowers are known for demonstrating certain properties when taken orally or used topically. For instance, they are frequently in teas, tinctures, and creams. There are many more options depending on the desired effect. Here is a short list of commonly found flowers in things you may have around the house. Take your child on a tour of the different products in your house that make use of flowers.

• Firstly, lavender can be found in almost everything now and for good reason. Lavender relieves stress, tension and insomnia. Just in my house I can find these items with lavender: tea, bar soap, shampoo, conditioner, dishwash, candles, floor cleaner…Even as I write this I have a steaming mug of lavender and chamomile tea.
• Secondly, chamomile and Echinacea flowers are frequently found in teas. Chamomile can treat inflammation, insomnia, and more. While Echinacea boosts the immune system.
• Lastly, roses can be used in teas but they also have health benefits topically, similar to lavender. Roses treat inflammation, sore throats, and more.

Books and poems to read that are all about flowers.

Studying a flower physically can help us and a child learn all about flowers. But reading books and poems can enhance the learning experience even more. Here is a list of books that we have enjoyed reading when learning all about flowers.

Books all about flowers.

Firstly, Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert

Secondly, Flowers by Gail Gibbons

The Flower Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta

Lastly, DK Life Cycles: Everything from Start to Finish illustrated by Sam Falconer

Poems all about flowers.

Firstly, The Flowers poem from A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson is a perfect child’s poem to hear the whimsical and fun names of various flowers.

Tthe following book suggestion is a collection of poetry from various authors. I cannot recommend this book enough because it is full of various topics and specifically compiled for children. You will find a handful of poems dedicated to flowers. Favorite Poems Old and New: Selected for boys and girls by Helen Ferris. This is full of beautiful poems. It is the perfect addition to a home library for reading about a range of topics, not just flowers and plants.

Observing flowers is one of the best options for learning all about flowers.

Where to get flowers.

Growing flowers in your yard is the best option to learn all about flowers.

Depending on the time of year and your situation you could grow flowers in your own garden, on a windowsill, or on a porch. If this is at all an option, choose this because your child will have the opportunity to observe the flowers in a natural environment. 

For instance, we planted a wildflower garden for the first time last year and I was amazed at how our backyard came to life. The flowers brought insects, which then brought birds. We had a plethora of flowers which allowed us to make use of the flowers, decorate with them, and leave plenty for the wildlife. The overall learning experience allowed my boys to learn all about flowers by observing their life cycle and seeing them in their natural environment.

If you don’t have that option or a green thumb then maybe a neighbor grows flowers. Ask them for permission and see if they’ll let you at least study the flowers. If they allow you to pick, pick sparingly. And if you do make bookmarks be sure to give one back to the neighbor.

A You Pick Wildflowers may be just around the corner for learning all about flowers.

Another option is a You Pick. These are similar to You Pick Strawberries or Blueberry farms. You pay a small entrance fee or based on however much you pick. 

Keep the grocery store as a last resort but it is still a good option to kickstart learning all about flowers.

You do not need to have fresh flowers but it’s much more fun. Luckily for most individuals, flowers can be bought almost anytime of the year. Grocery stores and flower shops stock flowers all year round. If possible though, try another option first.

Overall try to give your child the opportunity to observe flowers in their natural habitat. Even if this means walking around a neighborhood or park and not picking. Then if needed you can purchase flowers from the store to do the flower pressing activity.

Look for opportunities to say the proper names for the parts of a flower.

Make time to discuss the purpose of the parts for an older child:

Petal -petals attract certain pollinators to the plant with their vibrant color, shape, and fragrance.

Sepal -protects the initial bud of the flower from dangers.

Stamen -the stamen produces pollen that allows flowers to produce more flowers.

Pistil -the pistil receives pollen and produces seeds for the plant.

Stem -the stem connects the flower to the root system. This carries water and nutrients from the soil up the plant.

Leaf -leaves capture the sunlight and change it into energy for the plant to use.

More nature inspired activities. 

Love making things from nature with your child? Check out these bookmarks made from pressed flowers! These two activities are great to pair to together to inspire your child to learn all about flowers. 

Or maybe art is more your speed. These posts on how to turn apple stamping and leaf stamping into play based learning activities might inspire you more. 

Get the free printable for the anatomy of a flower and continue learning all about flowers.

Children are curious about the world around them. Because of this, flowers are an excellent topic waiting to be turned into a lesson. From enhancing our lives with medicinal properties to bringing joy by their simple beauty they deserve our attention.