Flower Arranging

One of my absolute favorite lessons in the Montessori Practical Life area is Flower Arranging.  Each year, I introduce this lesson in the wintertime because it adds such a lovely warmth to the classroom during the cold, Maine, winter days!  While providing the children additional opportunities for practicing everyday skills such as pouring, cutting,  measuring, and estimating, this activity also cultivates an essential component in any successful Montessori setting.  That is, the child's sense of ownership and pride in their learning environment. 

Overhead view of our Flower Arranging lesson:  These materials are set up on the top shelf of the Practical Life shelves which house the wet transferring lessons:  large vase (filled with white carnations); silver tray with assortment of tall and short vases and basket of doilies; clear tray with bowl, small pitcher, funnel, dish towel, and scissors. (You can also see the materials in the title photo at the top of the blog page - that photo is from the end of last school year...)

To complete the activity, the child chooses two flower stems from the large vase, one vase and one doily from the silver tray, and places them onto the clear tray.  The clear tray is then taken to a table.

Next, the child takes one stem, measures against the vase to determine how much to trim, and cuts the stem.  Remnant pieces are placed in the dish to be discarded later.

  

Then, I show the child how to remove the leaves which would otherwise be submerged in the water.  These are also placed in the bowl.

After the child has placed each stem in the vase and arranged them accordingly, they take their vase and doily to a any location they choose in the classroom.  The smiles on their faces are priceless as they beautify our environment and admire their work! 

At a work table,



...on a shelf,



...in the Language area,



...and by the central rug.



One child even placed an arrangement next to our sign-in/sign-out board - how cheerful is that?!



And, isn't this the perfect spot for a tiny vase?

 

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