Tag: plants

Homes in Water and on Land – Infants 2 Science

Aven BrisailLeave a comment

A habitat is the natural home of a plant or animal. It gives them food, water and shelter. Some habitats are in water and some are on land.

Water habitats

Rivers, ponds, swamps and the sea are water habitats. Fish, crabs, turtles and water lilies live in or near water. Fish have gills to breathe under water and fins to swim.

A wide calm river with thick green mangrove trees on each side
The Caroni Swamp, Trinidad. Mangrove trees, crabs, fish and scarlet ibis live here.
Grueslayer, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A green forest with a sign in front
The Main Ridge Forest Reserve, Tobago: a land habitat full of trees, birds and insects.
Kalamazadkhan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Land habitats

Forests, fields, gardens and even your backyard are land habitats. Agoutis, iguanas, birds, ants and trees live on land.

Water habitatLand habitat
Examplespond, river, swamp, seaforest, field, garden
Animalsfish, crab, turtleagouti, goat, iguana, birds
Plantswater lily, mangrovemango tree, grass, chaconia
Special body partsgills, fins, webbed feetlegs for walking, wings, fur

Look closely

A habitat is a good home when it has what the animal needs. A fish would not live in a tree, and a goat would not live in the sea! Some animals, like frogs and crabs, can live both in water and on land.

TRY ITHabitats

Choose a game. Tap your answer.

Let’s practise

Try each one. Then tap Show answer to check.

1. What is a habitat?

Show answer

The natural home of a plant or animal, where it finds food, water and shelter.

2. Name two water habitats.

Show answer

For example a river, pond, swamp, the sea.

3. Name two animals that live on land.

Show answer

For example a goat, agouti, iguana, ant.

4. Why can a fish not live on land?

Show answer

It breathes with gills, which need water.

5. Name an animal that lives in water and on land.

Show answer

For example a frog or a crab.

Quick check

1. Is the Caroni Swamp a water or land habitat?

Show answer

Water (a swamp).

2. Where do scarlet ibis feed?

Show answer

In the swamp.

3. Name a plant that lives in water.

Show answer

For example a water lily or mangrove.

Words to know

Say these words with a grown-up. Can you use each one in a sentence?

habitat · water · land · swamp · forest · shelter · gills · fins

Try it at home

  • Look for small habitats around your home: under a stone, in a plant pot, in a drain. Who lives there? (Look, do not touch.)
  • Draw a water habitat and a land habitat. Add three animals to each.
  • If you visit a beach or river, list the living things you see.

For parents and teachers

After this lesson, your child should be able to:

  • explain what a habitat is
  • sort animals and plants into water and land habitats
  • describe how a habitat meets an animal’s needs

Remind children to wash hands after outdoor exploring and never to put hands under rocks where centipedes or scorpions might hide.

Previous: Sorting Things, Pushes and Pulls
Next: Energy Changes and Super Scientists

Attributions to media used in this post:

TnT Caroni Swamp 2.jpg – Grueslayer – CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Tobago – August 2013 (1530).JPG – Kalamazadkhan – CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

© 2026 Vedesh Kungebeharry. All rights reserved.

Watch a Seedling Grow – Infants 2 Science

Aven BrisailLeave a comment

A tiny seed can grow into a big plant! Today we plant a seed, watch it change and measure how much it grows.

How a seedling grows

  1. 🫘 seed – it needs water and warmth to start
  2. 🌱 a root grows down first
  3. 🌿 a shoot pushes up out of the soil
  4. 🍃 the first leaves open – now it is a seedling
  5. 🪴 it grows taller with more leaves
A young bean plant with big green leaves growing in a blue pot
A bean seedling growing in a pot. Beans grow quickly – great for watching! Photo: Datadoggieein, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Measure it

Stand a strip of paper or a line of paper clips next to your seedling. Count how many clips tall it is. Do this every two days and write the number down.

Make a growth chart

Draw a bar for each day. A taller bar means a taller plant. Look at the chart: does your plant grow the same amount every time?

TRY ITGrowing chart

Choose a game.

Let’s practise

Try each one. Then tap Show answer to check.

1. What grows first from a bean seed?

Show answer

The root.

2. What do we call a young plant with its first leaves?

Show answer

A seedling.

3. A seedling is 3 clips on Monday and 5 clips on Friday. How much did it grow?

Show answer

2 clips (5 − 3 = 2).

4. What does a taller bar on a growth chart mean?

Show answer

The plant was taller that day.

5. Name two things a seedling needs to keep growing.

Show answer

Water, sunlight, air and soil.

Quick check

1. Put in order: plant, seed, seedling.

Show answer

seed, seedling, plant.

2. What can we use to measure a seedling?

Show answer

Paper clips, a paper strip, blocks or a ruler.

3. Does a plant grow the same amount every day?

Show answer

Not always. Look at your chart to find out!

Words to know

Say these words with a grown-up. Can you use each one in a sentence?

seed · root · shoot · seedling · grow · measure · taller · chart

Try it at home

  • Plant two or three beans (or corn or pigeon peas) in cups of soil. Keep the soil damp and the cups in a bright place.
  • Measure with paper clips every two days and fill in the chart in the activity.
  • Draw your seedling on day 2, day 6 and day 10. What changed?

For parents and teachers

After this lesson, your child should be able to:

  • describe how a seedling changes as it grows (seed, root, shoot, leaves)
  • measure a seedling with paper clips or paper strips
  • record heights on a simple chart and say what it shows
  • draw the stages of growth

Soaking beans overnight speeds things up. A clear cup lined with damp paper towel lets children see the roots.

Previous: Animals: Alike and Different
Next: Healthy Food: The Six Food Groups

Attributions to media used in this post:

Pinto Bean Plant Growth.jpg – Datadoggieein – CC0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

© 2026 Vedesh Kungebeharry. All rights reserved.