Outdoor STEAM Storytime: Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner

Welcome to Week 2 of our Outdoor STEAM Storytime series—where each week we pair a beautiful picture book with a simple, nature-inspired STEAM activity perfect for preschoolers.

These storytime invitations are designed to help young children explore the world through curiosity, creativity, and play—all while building foundational STEAM thinking.

This week’s book invites us to dig a little deeper—literally!

Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner

This beautifully illustrated story follows a child and grandparent as they tend their garden through the seasons—exploring both the visible world above the soil and the hidden world teeming with life underneath. It’s a wonderful introduction to observation, life cycles, and how living things work together in nature.

STEAM Focus: Science + Systems Thinking

This book helps children understand how things they can and can’t see work together to support life in a garden. It encourages thoughtful observation, asking questions, and noticing patterns in nature.

Tip for Teachers:

You don’t need a big garden—just a patch of dirt, a raised bed, or even a planter box. The magic happens when kids start looking closely.

Outdoor STEAM Invitation: Dig, Discover, and Compare

Materials Needed:

• Access to a garden bed, planter box, or patch of dirt
• Trowels or digging spoons
• Magnifying glasses (optional)
• Printable observation sheet or blank paper

Try This:

1. Start “up in the garden”—observe what’s growing. What do the leaves, stems, and flowers look like? What insects or animals can you see?
2. Then go “down in the dirt.” Carefully dig into the soil and explore what’s underneath—roots, worms, bugs, pebbles.
3. Compare the two environments. What’s happening above vs. below? Let children draw or describe what they find.

Extension Idea: Root View Science Station

Set up a clear container (like a plastic bin, recycled bottle, or large mason jar) and plant seeds for root vegetables—like carrots, radishes, or green onions. Place it near a sunny window and lightly water. Over time, children can observe how roots grow down while stems grow up.

Short on time or materials? Try cutting the tops off store-bought carrots or green onions. Place them in a shallow dish of water and watch how the greens regrow over several days. Let children draw what they notice or track the changes on a simple observation chart.

Questions to Spark Curiosity:

• What lives in the dirt?
• How do worms help plants grow?
• What’s different about what we see above the dirt and below it?
• What surprised you the most?

Reflect & Record:

Invite children to fold a paper in half and draw “Up in the Garden” on one side and “Down in the Dirt” on the other. Use words, colors, or pictures to show what they noticed.

For Toddlers (Ages 1–2):

Toddlers will love the sensory experience of digging in dirt. Provide a safe container with soil, soft tools, and natural materials to touch, scoop, and explore. Say things like, “You’re digging!” or “Look, a worm!” to model observation language. Keep it open-ended and joyful.

🧰 Want More Book-Based STEAM?This is just one of the many book pairings and nature-based invitations you’ll find inside the Preschool STEAM Vault—our complete library of hands-on, 5-Star Play learning guides launching August 2025.