Classroom Resources
Bring wildflowers into your classroom
Wild About Wildflowers! is a free activity guide developed by the Florida Wildflower Foundation to help students and learners of all kinds discover Florida’s native wildflowers. Fully updated in 2026, this expanded edition is organized into nine units that progress from the anatomy of a single flower to the broader ecological and cultural roles wildflowers play — covering flower parts, life cycles, pollination, seed dispersal, adaptations, plant and animal interactions, the importance of wildflowers to people and ecosystems, wildflower identification, and the stories behind wildflower names.
Designed for grades 3 and 4 and aligned with Florida science, math and language arts standards, the guide is easily adaptable for other ages and settings — making it a practical resource for classroom teachers, environmental educators, nature center staff and anyone who wants to bring Florida’s botanical world to life. Each unit includes hands-on activities, vocabulary, discussion questions and a curated list of books and web resources. Fill out the short form below to access the full guide.
To access the full activity guide, please fill out this brief request form.
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Teachers also may apply for wildflower garden grants that serve as outdoor classrooms when used with the activities. Click to learn more about our Seedlings for Schools grant program.
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To access the full activity guide, please fill out this brief request form.
More resources
Florida Wildflower Foundation resources:
- Planning your school garden (Practical information on wildflower gardens and creating garden teams with volunteers)
- Linking your garden to your curriculum (Ideas for creating curriculum goals and projects that incorporate your campus wildflower garden)
- Wild About Wildflowers! Activity Guide (A 139-page activity guide addressing Florida native wildflowers and their purpose and place in Florida’s unique habitats. Activities are correlated to third- and fourth-grade standards but are amenable to all grade levels.)
- Common Invasive and Non-native plants
- Wildflower Maze (Grades K–2)
- Wildflower Connect the Dots (Grades 2–4)
- Wildflower Crossword Puzzle (Grades 3–5)
- Wildflower Word Search (Grades 3–5)
- Plant profiles (300+ profiles of native wildflowers and plants)
- A Guide to Restoring the Little Things that Run the World webinar, Doug Tallamy
Order seeds for your garden:
Wildflower videos:
- Protecting Florida Wildflowers (by NatureWise TV)
- Landscaping with Florida Native Wildflowers (by NatureWise TV)
Choosing wildflower species for your garden:
- Guide for Choosing Native Wildflowers and Plants
- 20 Easy-to-Grow Wildflowers
- Attracting Bees and Other Beneficial Insects with Florida’s Native Wildflowers
- Attracting Butterflies
- Attracting Birds
- Great Wildflowers for your Dry Landscape
- Starting a Wildflower Garden from Seed
- Recognizing Small Wildflower Seedlings, OecoHort, LLC
UF/IFAS Extension offices:
- In addition to offering many more gardening resources, UF/IFAS Extension offices can do a soil analysis for you if provided with a soil sample. To find your local extension agent or office, visit solutionsforyourlife.ifas.ufl.edu/map/.
Classroom and garden activities:
- Florida Wildflowers and Butterflies Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida (Click on photos for identification and gardening information)
- Grow to Learn: Florida School Gardening Guide Sarasota County UF/IFAS Extension
- Florida Automated Weather Network Factsheet (Calculate the proper amount of water needed for irrigation)
- Kids Gardening (Lesson plans and activities on wildflowers, pollinators, photosynthesis and more)
- Urban Pollinator Program Curriculum Guide K-12 from North Dakota Game and Fish Department
- Pollinator Curriculum and PowerPoint for K-12 from Beyond Pesticides
- Coloring pages from Amy Mosher of the Sea Rocket Chapter, Florida Native Plant Society
Classroom environmental education:
- Celebrating Wildflowers US Forest Service
- League for Environmental Educators of Florida (LEEF)
- Center for Invasive Species (Learn about and report invasive plants and animals in Florida.)
- Marvelous Explorations Through Science and Stories: MESS® Florida Museum of Natural History (Science-centered curriculum for 3–5 year olds.)
- Project Learning Tree University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (Educational resources and guides for early childhood, elementary, middle and high school.)
- Combat Garden Pests Naturally Farmers’ Almanac
Butterflies and other insects:
- The Tiny and Tough Miami Blue Butterfly, Geena M. Hill and Sarah Steele Cabrera, Florida Museum of Natural History (coloring book)
- Butterfly Forest Educators Guide Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida
- Monarch Joint Venture University of Minnesota (Help collect longterm national data)
- Beneficial Insects Sarasota County UF/IFAS Extension
- Pollinator profiles Florida Wildflower Foundation
- Northeast Florida’s Native Bees (Gardening for bees in Northeast Florida; native bee identification)
- University of Florida, Entomology Department Outreach Program
Birds:
- Audubon for Kids! National Audubon Society
- Plants for Birds National Audubon Society
- All About Birds Cornell University Lab of Ornithology (Online bird guide, bird ID help and bird sounds)
- North American Bird Guide National Audubon Society (smartphone app)
- Guide to North American Birds National Audubon Society
- K-12 Educational Webinars Cornell University Lab of Ornithology
Amphibians and reptiles:
- Kids’ Corner University of Florida, Department of Wildlife Ecology & Conservation (Amphibian and reptile coloring and activity books)
- How to Make a Treefrog House University of Florida, Department of Wildlife Ecology & Conservation
- Gopher Tortoise Program Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (Help document gopher tortoise sightings)
Links to school gardening resources:
- Kids Gardening
- The Science Spot (Science activities for junior high school students)
- National Wildlife Federation — Teaching with Schoolyard Habitats
- National Wildlife Federation — Ensuring Success for your Schoolyard Habitat
- Junior Master Gardeners
- Pollinator Partnership
- Florida Green Schools Network
- How to Build a Raised Garden Bed, UF/IFAS (lumber)
- How to Build a Raised Garden Bed, UF/IFAS (concrete blocks)
- Propagation, UF/IFAS
Links to Florida wildflower and native plant information:
- Florida Wildflower Foundation
- Plant Real Florida, Florida native nurseries
- Florida Native Plant Society
Grants and other resources:
- Blue School Grant Program St Johns River Water Management District
- School Garden Grants Florida Agriculture in the Classroom
- Therapeutic Garden Grants National Garden Bureau
- Whole Kids Foundation
- Teaching Gardens Network American Heart Association
- Donors Choose (teaching grants)
Children’s books on gardening and nature in Florida:
- The Nature of Florida’s Neighborhoods: Including Bats, Scrub jays, Lizards and Wildflowers, Cathie Katz and Jim Angy
- Creatures and Plants in Florida: Education for Everyone Series, Jacqueline Gonzalez
Children’s books on nature:
- The Great Pollinator Count, Susan Edwards Richmond (ages 4-8)
- The Garden Next Door, Collin Pine
- Max and the Milkweed, Auggie Grand (ages 2-5)
- On One Flower: Butterflies, Ticks and a Few More, Anthony Fredericks (grades K–4)
- A Kid’s Ecojournal Series, Toni Albert
- Citizen Scientists: Be a Part of a Scientific Discovery from Your Own Backyard, Loree Griffin Burns and Ellen Harasimowicz
- Homes for Wildlife: A Planning Guide for Habitat Enhancement on School Grounds, Marilyn C. Wyzga
- Greening School Grounds — Creating Habitats for Learning, Tim Grant and Gail Littlejohn (grades K–12)
- The Nature Connection — An Outdoor Workbook for Kids, Families and Classrooms, Claire W. Leslie
- Restoring Wetlands (Let’s Explore Science), Jeanne Sturm
- The Flower Hunter: William Bartram, America’s First Naturalist, Deborah Kogan Ray
- My Schoolyard Garden, Steve Rich (grades K–3)
- National Audubon Society First Field Guide Series, Scholastic
- Bugs in the Garden, Beatrice Alemagna
- Carl Linnaeus: Father of Classification, Margaret Jean Anderson
- On Meadowview Street, Henry Cole
- The Tiny Seed, Eric Carle
- Hare and the Big Green Lawn, K.C. Robey & L MacDougall
- Big Yellow Sunflower, Frances Barry (Ages 3–8)
- Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move, JoAnn Early Macken
- A Seed is Sleepy, Dianna Hutts Aston (Ages 4–12)
- Once Around the Sun, Bobbi Katz & LeUyen Pham (Ages 4–12)
- From Seed to Plant, Gail Gibbons
- Roots Shoots Buckets Boots: Gardening Together with Children, Sharon Lovejoy
- Gardening with Children (Brooklyn Botanical Garden), Hanneman, Hulse, Johnson, Kurland, Patterson
- The Curious Garden, Peter Brown
- Echoes for the Eye: Poems to Celebrate Patterns in Nature, Barbara J. Esbensen
- Saving the Seeds of Wonder, Marc Rogers
- Garden Crafts for Kids: 50 Great Reasons to Get Your Hands Dirty, Diane Rhodes
- Miss Rumphius, Barbara Cooney
- The Flowers are Calling, Rita Gray
- Miss Lady Bird’s Wildflowers, Kathi Appelt
- What’s Inside a Flower, Rachel Ignotofsky
- Mrs. Peanuckle’s Flower Alphabet, Mrs. Peanuckle
- A Little Guide to Wildflowers, Charlotte Voake
- Oh Say Can You Seed? Cat in the Hat learning library
- What Does the Bunny See? Linda Sue Park
- We are the Gardeners, Joanna Gaines
- Poppy, Buttercup, Bluebell and Dandy, Fiona Woodock
- The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver, Gene Barretta
(Resources updated 8/2025)