Kathleen M. Reilly - Explore Life Cycles!: 25 Great Projects, Activities, Experiments

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Other titles from Nomad Press in theExplore Your World! Series

H ave you ever planted a garden with your parents? You cover the seeds with soil and water them. A few days later a little green shoot pokes out of the ground. Within weeks, the little green shoot transforms into a flower, vegetable, or fruit.

Or maybe you once owned a kitten or puppy. Its amazing how fast they grow from a tiny little fur ball into a young animal with tons of energy. Before you know it your kitten or puppy is a full-sized cat or dog. You might have also had the sad experience of losing a beloved pet who grew old and died.

These are all stages of life. Every living thing goes through them. Together, these stages are called the life cycle.

Stage: a single step in a process.

life Cycle: the full life of a living thing, from birth to death.

habitat: the natural area where a plant or an animal lives.

Different creatures go through different changes during their life cycle. For example, a toad begins life as a swimming tadpole before growing into an adult. A butterfly starts out as a caterpillar before transforming itself. A huge oak tree begins life as a tiny acorn that slowly grows over many years. And you start out as a tiny infant!

All living things may grow differently, but they all follow the same basic stages of the life cycle.

In this book, youll explore all these stages. Youll see how plants and animals go through each stage. Youll also find out what happens when something disrupts a life cyclelike acid rain or the destruction of habitat

But most of all, youll have fun as you tackle projects and activities that explore these ideas. So turn the page and lets get started with the cycle of life!

C an you remember what it was like when you were younger? You were smaller, sure. And you probably couldnt do many things that you can do now. Maybe you couldnt ride a two-wheeler yet, or write a thank-you card, or climb the monkey bars at the playground.

Now imagine what youll be like 20 years from now. Youll be an adult. Maybe youll even have kids of your own!

Everyone goes through a lot of different stages in their lifetime. All organisms grow, change shape, create new life, and die. Then the life cycle begins all over again.

organism: a living thing, such as a plant or animal.

species: a group of plants or animals that are related and look the same.

All organisms begin life in a certain way. But the ways they begin can be very different. Some organisms begin life inside their mothers. Others start inside seeds. And some begin inside eggs. It all depends on the species.