HowSeedsTravel A baby plant needs a place of its own.
A seed cannot walk. It cannot swim. So how does a dandelion end up growing through the pavement three gardens away? Today you find out — and you blow the first one off yourself.
Five stops. One big question.
Do them in order, or jump around — the grown-up can pick. Each stop earns a star for the jar at the top of the page.
Word Garden · vocabulary
Six words to say, clap and picture. Flip the cards to find the meaning.
4 minutes · star #1Story Time · read aloud together
Sammy Seed's Big Trip — four panels, one puddle, one rabbit.
5 minutes · star #2Seed Maths · count, patterns, number stories
Count the pods, finish the patterns, solve what the wind did.
6 minutes · stars #3–5The Sorting Game · science thinking
Eight seeds. Four ways to travel. Put every one in the right vehicle.
5 minutes · star #6Seed Hunt & Make · outside, then paper
Find real seeds on your walk, then make a dandelion clock to keep.
5+ minutes · star #7The Word Garden
Tap a card to flip it over. On the back, tap clap it and clap the word along with the dots.
Sound hunt: which of these begins with /s/?
Say each word slowly and listen for the snake sound at the start.
Sammy Seed's Big Trip
Read each panel out loud together. Tap the ? on a panel for a grown-up question to ask before you turn the page.
So… who gave Sammy the very last ride?
Think about the end of the story.
Counting Seeds
Three little maths games. Take your time — say every number out loud as you point.
🫛 How many in the pod?
Point at each seed as you count. Then tap the number.
🔁 What comes next?
Read the pattern out loud, then choose the missing piece.
💨 Number stories
Listen to the story. Use your fingers if you need them.
Which Vehicle?
Tap a seed in the tray to pick it up. Then tap the way it travels. 8 seeds, 4 vehicles.
Nothing sorted yet — start with the fluffy one!
Seed Hunt & a Clock to Keep
Half of this lesson happens outdoors. Take a bag, take your time, and leave growing plants where they are.
Go to the edge
A patch of grass, a fence line, a path edge — anywhere plants meet people. That is where travelling seeds land.
Look low and look sticky
Crouch down. Check your socks and your dog's fur. Check under bushes where the wind can't reach.
Draw the circle
On paper, draw one big circle with a dot in the middle. This is your dandelion clock.
Glue what you found
Put each seed on the circle: fluffy seeds on top, sticky seeds on the sides, seeds from inside fruit at the bottom.
Tell the story
Show your clock to a grown-up and say: "This one travels by ___." Then put it somewhere you'll see it all month.
Collector's card
Tick each thing you find on your walk. Four ticks earns a star.
⚠️ Grown-up rules: don't pick seed heads that are still growing on the plant, and never eat an unknown seed or berry.
Five Quick Questions
No pressure — the right answer just tells you what your brain did today.
How to teach this one
Lesson 6 of 8 in Growing Things. Science, early literacy and maths, all carried by one idea: seeds must leave home.
Prep
- If you can, pick a dandelion clock and one sticky burr the day before — they wilt fast.
- No garden? A kitchen window sill works: half a lemon, a sesame seed packet, a dried pea pod.
- Have paper, glue and a bag ready before you go outside.
Good questions
- "Why can't ten dandelions share one tiny crack?"
- "Which seeds need to be light? Which can be heavy?"
- "How does a seed that swims get out of the water?"
- "What would happen if every seed fell straight down?"
Stretch it
- Sort the seeds by two features at once: travels by wind and has wings.
- Let your child write the last panel of the story, then read it to you.
- Measure: how far can one blow send a dandelion seed? Try three times.
Support it
- Read one panel, then say it again in your own words together.
- Count the pod seeds out loud with a finger on each one — don't rush to the numeral.
- Do the seed hunt first. Concrete evidence makes the sorting game obvious.
Signs it landed
- Your child says "because" at least once — "it flies because it's light".
- They notice a seed on the carpet an hour later.
- They ask a question you can't answer. That is the best result today.
Vocabulary
- seed · pod · burr · parachute · scatter
- float · stick · burst · germinate ("a seed waking up")
- dispersal — the long word for "spreading out"
Next: Lesson 7 — What a Seed Needs
We plant three jars of beans: one in the dark, one with no water, one just right. Guess what happens in a week — then wait and see.
The Star Jar
Fill all eight stars and the certificate unlocks below.
EXPERT
Month 2 · Lesson 6 · How Seeds Travel
Official Seed Traveller
This certifies that
can name the four ways a seed travels, count a pod of ten, and finish a seed hunt — all in one week of growing things.
Complete the lesson to unlock the print button.