Preschool Plant Activity – Understanding Watering the Christmas Tree

As you add water to your Christmas tree, is your preschooler wondering why? Are they wondering where all that water goes, and why the tree needs it? With this fun preschool science experiment, you can teach your preschooler why your Christmas tree (and all plants) need water and how water moves up all plants, including your Christmas tree.

What your Preschooler will Learn about Adding Water to a Christmas Tree:

1. Why your Christmas tree (and all plants) need water
2. Where the water goes
3. How water moves up your Christmas tree and other plants.

What you will Need:

1. Two white carnations
2. Two vases or glasses
3. Water
4. Food coloring
5. A small label

What To Do:

Step one: Put water in one of your vases or glasses

Step two: Mark on your vase the water level with your small label

Step three: Have your preschooler add a few drops of food coloring to the water in your vase. Note: Food coloring does stain, so use caution

Step four: Submerge the stem of your carnation in the separate basin of water and cut the bottom off

Step five: Quickly move the carnation into your vase or glass filled with colored water

Step six: Do not add any water to the other vase, but add your carnation

Step seven: Over the next few days, compare the two vases. Here's what you'll notice:

1. The flower without water will wilt or dry out
2. The flower in the colored water will stay fresh
3. Your flower in colored water will absorb the color of the water. Over a few days, the petals in your carnation will change to the color you added to the water
4. The water level will go down as your flower absorbs the water same as it does in your Christmas tree

Variations:

1. Rather than a white carnation, you can use a celery stalk with the leaves still attached. Make sure you make a clean cut in the bottom of the celery stalk or this preschool science experiment won't work.
2. If you don't like carnations, you can also do this preschool science experiment with a white daisy. Just follow the same instructions.

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