TinyStepper
Child in welly boots stirring a mud pie in a pot in the garden

Sunflower Height Chart

Plant a sunflower seed, water it daily, and measure it each week to see who grows faster — your child or the flower.

Activity details

2y–4y10 minslowoutdoorGarden TrowelTape MeasureWatering Can

Instructions

Get ready
  • Fill a large pot or dig a small hole in a sunny flower bed with your child's help.
  • Let your child drop a sunflower seed into the soil and cover it gently with earth.
  1. Fill a large pot or dig a small hole in a sunny flower bed with your child's help.
  2. Let your child drop a sunflower seed into the soil and cover it gently with earth.
  3. Water it together using a small watering can — let them pour.
  4. Each morning, check on the sunflower together — 'Has anything changed? Can you see a shoot?'
  5. Once the seedling appears, measure it with a tape measure and record the height on a chart.
  6. Mark your child's height on the same chart so they can compare the two.
  7. Each week, measure again and add a new mark — talk about how much it has grown.
  8. When the sunflower blooms, celebrate together — take a photo of your child standing next to their flower.

Parent tip

Set out garden trowel and tape measure before inviting your toddler in so the first minute feels smooth.

Toddler on a garden step examining a large leaf beside a basket of collected nature treasures

What success looks like

Curiosity in action — pointing, collecting, asking ‘what’s that?’ A child engaged with nature is learning without knowing it.

Plant a sunflower seed in a pot or garden bed and let your child water it every day. Each week, measure the sunflower with a tape measure or piece of string and mark the height on a wall chart or stick. Compare it to your child's height as the weeks go on. The sunflower will eventually tower over them, which is genuinely thrilling for a small person.

Why it helps

Daily watering builds routine and responsibility — two skills that support executive function development. Measuring and comparing heights introduces early maths concepts like taller, shorter, and how much more. The long timeframe teaches patience and delayed gratification in a way that is visible and rewarding. The EYFS framework recognises that sorting, matching, and predicting are foundational thinking skills — the kind of everyday logic that supports learning across every area.

Variations

  • Plant two sunflowers and let your child predict which will grow taller — introduces comparison and prediction.
  • Press a leaf from the sunflower each week to create a growth journal showing how the leaves change size.
  • At the end of summer, harvest the seeds together and save them to plant next year — a full life cycle lesson.

Safety tips

  • Keep soil and seeds away from mouths — some seeds are treated with chemicals.
  • Wash hands thoroughly after handling soil.
  • Supervise use of any watering equipment to prevent spills on slippery surfaces.

Want to try another?

Garden Growth Check

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