Activities:

From Books and Web Sites

Articles:

LOWLY WONDERS. Mother Earth News
Foster, Steven., April/May 1995, issue 149. (excerpt) (PDF 68.6 kb)

Watershed Ways
Nine things to like about dandelions By Lynn Jones
Spring 2002 (PDF 87.5 kb)


Resources:

Dandelion Books

Curriculum Resources (PDF 98.9 kb)

Activities from books:

Examine dandelions, note variation in dandelion leaves from plants growing in different locations, etc.
from Richards, Roy. An early start to nature. London, Toronto: Simon & Schuster, 1990. (QH 51 .R52)

&Dandelion dallying”—various activities such as tracking dandelions grown on mown and unmown plots, measuring how far seeds travel, dissecting dandelion flowers, comparing grass and dandelion root systems.
from Schoolground science: activities for elementary & middle schools. Lincoln: Massachusetts Audubon Society, 1988. (QH 51 .S3)

Watching a shepherd’s clock, dandelion crowns, dandelion chain, dandelion curls, dandelion bubbles, dandelion blossom fritters and greens, counting and blowing dandelion seeds.
from Sisson, Edith A. Nature with children of all ages. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1982. (QH 51 .S527)

Plant census, blowing dandelion seeds and measuring how far they travel, observing and recording growth of dandelions
from Rockwell, Robert E., Sherwood, Elizabeth A. and Williams, Robert A. Hug a tree and other things to do outdoors with young children. Mount Rainier, MD: Gryphon House, c1983. (QH 51 .R62)

Studying dandelions to determine how they “flourish despite our determined efforts to exterminate them.”
from Comstock, Anna Botsford. Handbook of nature study. Ithaca, NY: Comstock Publishing Associates, 1986 (orig. published 1939)


Activities from Web Sites:

Dandelion Determinations (census) from Schoolyard Ecology Leader’s Handbook.
www.ecostudies.org/syefest/ap1res2.htm

Lesson Plan: Growing dandelions (for K-2)
http://streetcat.bnkst.edu/CFDOCS/LessonPlans.cfm?Identifier=dandelion

Crafts: spread glue on paper and blow dandelion seeds onto paper; use dandelion flowers as paintbrushes

Investigate ways of reducing dandelion growth (without using herbicides)