Pinecone Sorting and Graphing

We continue our countdown to Christmas for day 13 of Advent. I’m sharing a Christmas science idea with you at the beginning of each day until Christmas. Day 13’s activity is Pinecone Sorting and Graphing.

Christmas Science Advent Calendar

Pinecone Sorting and Graphing

Aiden and I headed outside on a relatively nice {but cold} day. We searched for more pinecones to add to our collection. When we returned inside, I set up a sorting invitation. Sorting is a classification skill.

Pinecone Sorting & Graphing - Day 13 of our Christmas Science Advent Calendar

I wrote small, medium, and large on 3 different pieces of paper placed next to the pile of pinecones.

Pinecone Sorting & Graphing - Day 13 of our Christmas Science Advent Calendar

I told Aiden what the papers said and asked him to pick out the smallest pinecones. Then, he sorted the remaining pinecones into medium and large piles. He rearranged a few of the pinecones until he was satisfied with their classification. He took one he had originally placed in the small pile and moved it to the medium pile. He also had to decide if some were medium or large {sorting can be subjective sometimes}.

Pinecone Sorting & Graphing - Day 13 of our Christmas Science Advent Calendar

Next, we created a graph of our pinecone sizes.

Pinecone Sorting & Graphing - Day 13 of our Christmas Science Advent Calendar

Aiden counted the pinecones and added stars to the graph to represent the number of pinecones for each size.

Pinecone Sorting & Graphing - Day 13 of our Christmas Science Advent Calendar

We also measured the length of some of the pinecones. It’s another great way to compare the sizes. Measuring also can give you more precise categories. You can easily define the sizes small, medium, and large by adding a measurement requirement.

Pinecone Sorting & Graphing - Day 13 of our Christmas Science Advent Calendar

I’ll see you tomorrow for Day 14’s Christmas science activity.

More Christmas Activities for Kids

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