Experimenting With Pine Cones

One of the beautiful things about nature is that it is filled with opportunities and materials that can be used to help children learn and grow. Recently, nature unexpectedly gave me a gift when a wind storm blew pine cones all over my yard. After experimenting with the pine cones for a while, I realized that not only are they beautiful, but they also can be used to create several educational experiences. The following activity is designed to help children and adults explore the science of how pine cones open and close while also building children's cognitive and fine motor skills. 

Age Group: This activity is very moldable and can be used with children ranging from 3-5 years

Type of Activity:  This activity is designed to be done either one on one with a child or with a small group of children as adult supervision is required.

Learning Objectives:

1. Children will work on strengthening their pincer grasp (the motion of picking up an item with their index finger and thumb) by using tongs to pick up small items.

2. Children will explore cause and effect and making predictions by experimenting with water and pine cones.

Areas of Development Addressed:

As children play with the pine cones, water, and kitchen tongs they...

Practice fine motor skills- As children open and close the tongs to pick-up pine cones and other items, they strengthen muscles needed for writing, cutting with scissors, and even eating. 

Practice cognitive skills - As children experiment with the pine cones and water and make predictions about what will happen, they build critical cognitive skills, including understanding cause and effect and making predictions. 

Practice language skills- By engaging in conversations with adults during the activity, children learn new words related to science and nature. 

Materials:

• Bowl or bucket
• Dry pine cones with open scales
• Warm water 
• Small kitchen tongs
• Optional: items for children to pick up with the tongs such as small blocks, small plastic balls, or pebbles

Completing the Activity: 

To complete this activity, you will need to start by setting out a bowl with warm water, some kitchen tongs, and pine cones. (Note) Set aside one or two pine cones out of the water to use later. Also, if you gathered your pine cones while it was damp outside, make sure that they have had time to thoroughly dry out and their scales have opened. Once you have the supplies laid out, invite children over. Explain to children that the idea is to place the pine cones in water and watch what happens. If your children are verbal, encourage them to share their guesses about what will happen. Once children are done guessing, encourage them to use the tongs to pick up the pine cones and place them in the water. If children struggle with their pincer grasp, you can give them more opportunities to practice by having them use the tongs to add other items to the water, such as small blocks, pebbles, etc.

Once the pine cones are in the water, encourage children to observe what happens. Allow children to put their hands in and explore what the water and pine cones feel like. Build their language and observation skills by talking with children about what they see and feel. For example, you can talk about how the pine cones float or how they feel wet and sticky. Also, remind children to watch to see if anything changes with the pine cones. After about 10-15 minutes, the pine cone scales should start to close. If children struggle to pay attention, allow them to focus on another activity for a while and then gently bring them back to see if the pine cones have changed. 

Once the scales have closed, have children remove the pine cones from the water with the tongs. Bring the dry pine cones out so that children can compare them to the wet pine cones. 

Let children feel and explore the pine cones. Encourage them to think deeper them questions such as, "What is different about the pine cones now?" or "Why do you think the little scales closed up?" After giving children a chance to manipulate the pine cones, explain that the pine cones hold seeds that can be used to plant new trees. The little scales on the outside of the pine cones protect the seeds inside like an umbrella. When the pine cone gets wet, the pine cone scales close to protect the seeds inside. Allow children to continue exploring the pine cones and asking questions until they start to lose interest.

Ways to Expand the Activity:

• Practice math skills by having children count pine cones or categorize them by size and shape.
• Explore art by providing children with paper and paint and letting them roll pine cones through the paint to create a textured picture.
• Explore nature by taking a walk outside with children to gather supplies for this activity, such as pine cones, small stones, acorns, etc. 
• Practice literacy skills by encouraging children to write or draw about their pine cone experiment.