As you introduce the parts of a plant, make the first introduction with a real plant. You can use anything from a tree to a potted plant.
Introduce the parts as you stroke them gently. Your child should naturally follow your lead, but you encourage them a little as needed.
The problem with pre-made material is that it may not suit the vegetation in your area. Make a chart like the one above for the plants that your child sees on a daily basis. You can even make a chart that features a photo of the potted plant in your apartment.
Lately, I have noticed that tree and plant cards are sold separately. This is incorrect because a tree is a plant. We call the stem of a tree the “trunk,” but it is the same. So, we use the chart (above) and discuss this with the children.
Display these charts on a wall or shelf. However, if doing so will clutter the space, you can add these to a folder that you can keep in your child’s work area. Children love to sit and look through these folders when they want to relax, much as adults enjoy coffee table books.
Those of you who purchased material for older children will have gotten links (or files, if you ordered print material) for free digital downloads from AMI. Those of you with younger children did not get these because we will make them before your child needs them. The reason we are making them is that the current digital offerings have become uglier and bigger with each passing season, until they are really annoying me. However, you can use the link above to refresh your own memories for the relevant vocabulary. It’s likely been some time since you have thought about rootlets and root caps!
Children can use tracing paper to draw the tree above. This is how the original outlines were made. We discourage the use of “black-lined masters” because they are not authentic, and they take away from the child’s experience of making them.
When you shop or pick plants, you can use the occasion to point out the parts of these plants, too.
One thing I like about these posts is that I learn, or re-learn, things with many of the posts. Teaching botany you always end up learning something yourself.