Pinecone Learning Activities for Kids

In the winter there aren’t as many natural materials to work with and learn about in a lot of the world. But if you live where there are deciduous trees, you’ll always be able to find pinecones, so let’s do some learning with pine cones!

Learn and label the parts of a pinecone and record other observations about pine cones with these printables from Superstar Worksheets. And grab these cute pinecone coloring pages from Nature Inspired Learning.

We love a good science project, and this investigation from Lemon Lime Adventures into why pinecones open is a good one. Basically all you need is pinecones, jars and water and some observant and curious kids. MomBrite has a similar experiment but goes more into the science of why pinecones open and close, rather than just observing that it is happening.

Because the opening and closing has to do with humidity, you can use pinecones to predict the weather. Rainy Day Mum made a pine cone weather station she shared about at Science Sparks, complete with printable worksheets you can use to record your observations.

I’ve said before that just about any classic STEM experiment can be altered to fit whatever season it is, and this post from Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails proves it by making a fizzy pinecone experiment.

Use pinecones and other natural materials in a find and count activity like this one from Little Pine Learners. Go on a nature walk to collect materials or use natural stuff you already have (just me?) like rocks, acorns, even seashells. You can count each thing, make a chart of how many you have of each, make repeating patterns, build creatures and so much more with a nice stash of natural materials in the classroom or home.

And of course there are so many crafts you can make with pinecones! One of my favorites since I always have yarn handy is a yarn-wrapped pinecone, which you can see over at Laura Radniecki. Or make cute animals with your pinecones like these owls from Curated by Michelle.

Amazing recycled shovel giant pinecones [Recycled Crafts]

Beautiful Zinnia Flowers Made from PINECONES! [Home and Garden]

Free Thanksgiving Printables for Kids

As if Diwali weren’t colorful and fun enough, The Festival of Lights: A Lift-the-flap Diwali Celebration by Namita Moolani Mehra, illustrated by Darshika Varm, makes it even more fun to read about with flaps and things to lift and pull to see more information or details in the illustrations.

The book is a story about a family getting ready for Diwali and what happens on the different days of the five-day celebration. There’s cleaning, shopping, crafting, food preparation and getting the home altar ready for the big day.

It covers decorating the outside of the house with rangoli, diyas and lanterns, buying sweets to share with family and friends, the sights and scents of the mandir (home temple), getting dressed up in new fancy clothes, the story of Diwali and celebrations with relatives.

Flaps (there are more than 140 in all) give you vocabulary words for different foods and definitions, as well as fun things like what’s inside the shopping basket or where the cat is hanging out. They also help illuminate the story of Diwali, which is the triumph of good over evil as Lord Ram defeated the demon Ravana to save his wife, Sita.

This pretty and colorful book helps kids understand what Diwali is and how it is celebrated, regardless of whether they practice it at home. This would be a nice book to keep in a classroom (it’s rated for kids ages 3-7) or to have at home to teach kids about Diwali even if it’s not something you celebrate. Where I live there are a lot of people from India so we are probably exposed to Diwali more than some other regions of America, but it’s a nice holiday to know about wherever you live.

Combine with the book Diwali and check out some fun lantern crafts and printables for kids to round out your experience.

About the book: 24 pages, hardcover, published 2025 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail prices $22.99.

Have you read?

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