This is a beautiful invitation to envision, enjoy and beautify beauty. No, this isn’t a pleonasm, it is an accentuation of all things lovely.
What can be more peaceful than a quiet and focused toddler making a flower arrangement with real sunflowers?
I am excited to bring to you a lesson that may seem simple, but in reality, it is full of important values to instill in every child.
Note
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To foster a peaceful and calm environment through this activityTo inspire creativity and aesthetic sense in the childTo praise their interest and desire to make their environment beautifulTo strengthen object discrimination and process orderTo encourage and support independence during everyday activitiesTo provide an opportunity to use gross motor skills with control and careFor the older children who use scissors, to refine fine motor skills
Materials
– a child-sized pitcher with some water in it– flowers (we prefer real flowers, but artificial will work fine)– a mat or a child-sized table– a microfiber rag (for cleaning spills, if there are any)For older children, you may want to provide a pair of child-sized scissors so they can trim the ends of the stems before putting them in the vase.
Steps
1. You child will model your presentation. Be flexible and give room for their own creativity to blossom.2. Child unrolls the mat on the floor or walks over to table, if using one. The vase, flowers, rag and pitcher (include scissor, if desired) are already there.3. Child slowly and carefully picks up pitcher and pours the water into the vase.4. She puts the pitcher down and wipes up any spilled water.5. Next, she studies the flowers on the mat. They might all be the same or there might be a variety of flowers.6. Child picks up her first flower and places it in the vase.7. Child keeps arranging the flowers as she sees fit best, always being calm, quiet and peaceful, focusing on the work at hand. This work is not to be seen as busy work to do as an afterthought while having a conversation with someone. It requires 100% of the attention and focus.Note: The child may or may not want all the flowers in the vase. That is acceptable. And in this case, find an alternative vase for the leftover flowers. I wouldn’t toss.8. Once the flower arrangement is done, the child will find a place for the vase; a place where their beauty can be displayed and enjoyed.Note: You may already have a designated place for your flowers arrangements. That is acceptable, too. Simply encourage your child to carefully and slowly carry the vase to that area. If it is too heavy and may be dangerous for the child to carry, please provide assistance with this task.9. Praise the child’s choice of flowers and how she arranged them. Praise how beautiful flowers are and how the environment is better with them there.10. Switch water out daily, if possible, giving the child an opportunity to rearrange the flowers.
Tips
– It is recommended that this lesson be introduced around age 3, but I have been doing this peaceful work with my youngest since she was about 1.5 years old, so test it out and see if it will work sooner for your little one.– When children are so enthralled in their flower arrangements and want to do it over and over, I hold off on the water pouring part until we are on our “last round” for the day. That way, if the vase accidentally tips over, there won’t be water spilled all over.– This is NOT a gender-specific work. Girls may have a knack for arranging flowers, but boys are just as creative. My son (now 5 years old) still enjoys making a bouquet for Mom or for Sister. He does use scissors to cut stems, by the way. Please make this work available to girls and boys alike.
As you can see, this is a beautiful activity that will bring joy and wholesome entertainment to you as you watch your child express her creativity and releasing peace into her environment. I hope you decide to practice this with your child often. Feel free to share your images on our Facebook page.
More posts on flowers:Amazing blogs involved in the 12 Months of Montessori Learning
Natural Beach Living ~ The Natural Homeschool ~ Living Montessori Now
The Kavanaugh Report ~ Mama’s Happy Hive ~ Study at Home Mama ~ Child Led Life
Every Star Is Different ~ Grace and Green Pastures ~ The Pinay Homeschooler
Come back and visit us every month to see more incredible Montessori posts!
Visit our Montessori Pinterest Board!“Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listeningto words but by experiences in the environment.” ~ Maria Montessori____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________
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Kimberly says
Flower arrangements by kids are the best. Wonderful read.
sylviadlg says
I love everything that you ate teaching my grandchildren… I am amazed!
Brooke says
I absolutely love your site, and I am particularly interested in learning about the GORGEOUS butterfly triptych that can be seen in the flower arranging post. Did you do this painting? If so, what type of paint did you use? It’s absolutely gorgeous and invokes the most incredible sense of beauty in a person! Thank You!
Sarah Lyle says
Wow! I had never thought of this idea. My husband bought flowers for my girls and they loved taking them out of the vase and playing with them. Wish I would have given them a vase, so they could arrange flowers. Sometimes I feel like I’m not engaging the kids enough (not that I have to be over their shoulders every minute). I’m really enjoying reading through your Montessori posts. I think I’ll read the book you recommended too (Montessori Today by Lillard). I don’t know much about Montessori except for passing by buildings in neat neighborhoods in San Francisco.