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Plant Life Cycle Hats

Posted on  - Last updated:

Categories Kindergarten, Preschool

Free printable plant life cycle hats make learning about the life cycle of a plant for kids so much more fun with hands-on activities!

These engaging hats help young learners visualize how plants grow from seeds to full-grown fruits, vegetables, and flowers.

Perfect for science lessons, garden themes, or just a fun craft, these hats make it easy to teach the plant life cycle for preschoolers and kindergarteners.

With 10 different hats to choose from, kids can explore the life cycles of:

  1. strawberries
  2. bananas
  3. oranges
  4. watermelons
  5. apples
  6. pumpkins
  7. sunflowers
  8. tomatoes
  9. beans
  10. eggplants

Just print, cut, and assemble to create an engaging, wearable learning experience. Keep reading to find out more about these fun printables and how to grab your free set!

Free printable plant life cycle hats for preschool and kindergarten with watermelon, apple, pumpkin, tomato, strawberry, eggplant, orange, sunflower, and bean designs.
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Supplies

Here are the supplies needed to make these life cycle crafts with kids:

  • printed life cycle hat templates – the PDF is free to download below
  • coloring supplies – crayons, markers, or colored pencils
  • cardstock or printer paper – cardstock makes the hats sturdier, but regular paper works too
  • scissors
  • tape
  • glue stick
supplies for plant life cycle hats craft for kids: printables, scissors, glue stick, and coloring supplies (crayons, pencil crayons, markers)

Fruit Life Cycle Hats

The first 4 life cycle hat crafts are a fun way for kids to explore how different fruits grow!

Each hat showcases the stages of a plant’s life, from seed to fruit.

Strawberry Life Cycle

Watch how a tiny seed transforms into a juicy red strawberry!

Free printable strawberry plant life cycle hat craft for kindergarten showing sprout, seedling, flower, and fruit stages.

Banana Life Cycle Activity

Learn how bananas grow in bunches from a flowering plant.

Banana life cycle hat craft printable with colored banana illustration, cut-out stages, crayons, scissors, tape, and glue on a yellow background.

Orange Life Cycle

See how oranges start as blossoms before becoming sweet citrus fruits.

Watermelon Life Cycle

Discover how watermelons grow from seeds into large, refreshing fruits!

Fall Plant Life Cycle Hats

Kids can also learn about plant life cycles of some well-known autumn plants with these kindergarten hat crafts. These life cycle coloring worksheets are perfect for seasonal science lessons or fall-themed activities.

Apple Life Cycle

Follow an apple’s journey from seed to tree to delicious fruit!

Pumpkin Life Cycle

Explore how pumpkins start as seeds, sprout vines, and grow into festive fall favorites!

Sunflower Life Cycle

See how a tiny sunflower seed grows into a tall, bright flower.

Garden Plant Life Cycle Hats

These 3 life cycle hats will help kids learn about some of the delicious plants that can grow in a garden!

Kids will learn how these plants sprout from seeds, grow into sturdy plants, and produce vegetables (or fruits, like tomatoes!).

Tomato Life Cycle

Learn how a tomato plant grows from a seedling into a fruit-bearing vine.

Bean Life Cycle

Watch how a tiny bean seed grows roots, sprouts, and climbs as a vine.

Bean life cycle hat craft for kindergarten showing seeds, sprout, and seedling stages on a wearable plant life cycle hat.

Eggplant Cycle

See how an eggplant starts as a flower before developing into a deep purple vegetable.

Completed eggplant life cycle hat craft for preschoolers. The paper hat displays the life cycle stages: seed, sprout, plant, flower, and eggplant, each with a corresponding illustration. The text at the bottom reads 'Preschool Life Cycle Hat Craft.'

Directions

The plant life cycle hats preschool craft can be done in 10 simple steps:

#1 – Print (prep work)

To save you time, here are the easy to follow printing instructions so you don’t have to think it out:

I chose to print the hat templates in white cardstock and the life cycle circles with regular printer printer.

To print all of the pages:

  • put regular white printer paper in the printer
  • open the PDF
  • go to File, then Print
  • For pages to print, enter pages 5, 9, 13
  • Make sure your printer setting is set to “Actual Size”.
  • Print
  • then remove white printer paper from the printer and put in white cardstock
  • File, then Print
  • For pages to print, enter pages: 1-4, 6-8, 10-12

To print it all with regular printer paper, print pages 1-13.

To print the fruit pages only:

  • pages 1-4 (cardstock)
  • page 5 (printer paper)

To print the fall pages only:

  • pages 6-8 (cardstock)
  • page 9 (printer paper)

To print the remaining vegetables & tomato pages only:

  • pages 10-12 (cardstock)
  • page 13 (printer paper)

#2 – Gather Supplies (prep work)

Collect together your coloring supplies, scissors, printouts, glue stick and tape.

#3 – Cut Strips (prep work)

Pull from your printout the 3 pages with the rows of circles with images inside. Use a paper cutter or scissors to cut along the lines. There are only 7 cuts to make.

This prep work is especially helpful if you’re using this for a group of kids. This way each kid can be given their strip to color along with their hat template.

Cutting along the lines of 3 printable pages to separate each different plant life cycle. The end result is a pile of 10 strips, each strip with a different plant.

#4 – Research Plant Life Cycle

To help kids learn how to color their plants, it would be a good idea to show them an image of their plant life cycle. You can use books or a quick Google search on the web.

#5 – Color

Give kids coloring supplies and let them have fun coloring their hat template and the different stages of their plant.

a child's hand colors the pumpkin of a preschool pumpkin life cycle hat craft

#6 – Cut

Kids can practice their scissors skills as they cut out the 4 or 5 circles of their chosen plant. Then they can follow the dashed lines and cut out their hat template.

Child cutting out plant life cycle circles and hat template pieces for a preschool watermelon life cycle hat craft.

Ask the child to not cut outside of the dashed lines, as the remaining cut out card stock can be used later to increase the size of the hats.

#7 – Order the Life Cycle Stages

Each strip has the life cycle stages in a jumbled order. Kids can move their cut out circles around to order them beginning to end.

Preschool life cycle activity with colored plant stages arranged in a row. The sequence includes eggplant seeds, a sprout, a plant, a flower, and an eggplant.

#8 – Glue the Circles in Order on the Hat Template

Kids use a glue stick to place their colored circles in order, on their hat template.

Gluing watermelon life cycle stages onto a preschool hat craft using a glue stick.

#9 – Make the Hat

Use the leftover cardstock to cut a rectangular strip.

Eggplant life cycle hat craft for preschoolers. The left side shows a completed, colored hat. Underneath is a strip of cardstock to use to increase the size of the hat. The right side shows hands taping an end of the strip to the back of the hat to assemble it.

Attach the ends of the hat band using a small piece of tape on each side, adjusting the size to fit comfortably on the child’s head.

#10 – Wear and Learn

Once assembled, kids can proudly wear their plant life cycle hats! When there are multiple kids, such as a classroom setting, kids can share with each other the life cycle of their plant. They can learn together how plants grow!

How to Download Printable Life Cycle Hats

Getting your free plant life cycle hats is quick and easy! Just fill out one of the forms below, and the printable PDF will open automatically in Google Drive. From there, you can print it right away or download it to your device.

But no worries if you prefer to print or download it another time. The 14 page PDF will also be sent to your email, so you can access it anytime that’s convenient for you.

Ready to get started? Fill out a form, grab your free printable, and let the plant life cycle fun begin!

More Fun Plant-Themed Activities for Kids

Looking for more ways to explore the life cycle of a plant for kids? Here are some hands-on activities for preschoolers and kindergarteners:

  • grow a plant from seeds – let kids plant their own seeds in a cup or garden and watch them sprout! Beans, sunflowers, and tomatoes grow quickly, making them great choices for little learners.
  • try a seed-sprouting experiment – Place a damp paper towel and a few bean seeds inside a clear plastic bag. Tape it to a sunny window and observe how the seeds sprout roots and stems over time.
  • read books about plant life cycles – pair these printable hats with engaging books that explain how plants grow:
National Geographic Kids "Seed to Plant" book by Kristin Baird Rattini
"The Amazing Life Cycle of Plant" book by Kay Barnham.
"From Seed to Plant" book for kids by Gail Gibbons
"The Tiny Seed" book by Eric Carle
"How A Seed Grows" Level 1 reading book by Helene J. Jordan
"Oh Say Can You Seed? All About Flowering Plants" Dr. Seuss book by Bonnie Worth.
  • make a life cycle craft – cut out pictures of the plant life cycle stages and have kids glue them in order on a paper plate to reinforce sequencing skills
  • play a plant life cycle matching game – print out pictures of different plant growth stages and let kids match them in the correct order for a fun and educational challenge