Montessori Practical Life - Caring for a Plant

I have been encouraging Little Bee to gently care for smaller living things. One smaller living thing being his baby sister. 😉 He is an active exuberant boy who needs to channel his energy with positive outlets. I thought a great way to learn to gently care for something small and delicate was to start with his very own plant. I told him that I was going to buy him his very own "Spider" plant. The name of the plant and the fact that it was going to be his very own was very exciting for Little Bee. As soon as I brought the plant home, he promptly named him - "George" and found him a home on his shelf.

List of Materials:

• Child-Safe Plant
• Clay Pot for Transplanting
• Small Watering Can
• Spray Bottle
• Child Scissors
• Tray
• Trowel
• Bowl and Sponge (cotton balls and Q-tips)
• Plant Food (optional)

Examining the Plant

George (the Spider plant) actually had several "baby" plants growing within his long green leaves. Little Bee reported that George was the daddy plant and these were his babies. I explained to Little Bee that we could gently cut the baby plants off of George and transplant them into their own pot. I thought it would be a fun botany lesson to watch these little ones grow.

We also removed George from his recycled pot and transplanted him into a clay pot. However, before placing him in the clay pot, I put him on a tray so we could examine his roots. Little Bee and I had talked about how plants need roots to help them stand up straight and absorb their food. Earlier in the week, we had walked around the block and looked for roots poking out of the ground beneath the neighborhood trees. Little Bee was fascinated as he viewed George's roots and touched them.

For a deeper study and free printables, visit "The Helpful Garden" blog for a beautiful set of Montessori Botany Nomenclature cards.

Caring for a Plant

Little Bee helped to prepare George for transplanting by filling up the clay pot with dirt from our garden. Then he moistened the dirt with his watering can and mixed it with his hands. He helped to place George into his new pot and pat the dirt down gently around him. After that we gave George a little more water and also misted his leaves. Little Bee was very gentle while caring for George. I created a fun plant cleaning tray for Little Bee to use with George. I prepared the tray with a little bowl of water, several cotton balls, Q-tips, scissors, tweezers (for fine motor work), and a cloth to wipe up spills. He carefully carried the tray over to the shelf where George lives and then gently cleaned his leaves.

Little Bee helped give George a haircut by trimming off his damaged leaves. 

Benefits

This practical life activity teaches a young child how to gently care for a delicate living plant. Gifting a child with a plant allows the child to feel "ownership" of the plant. This helps create a willingness to want to care for the plant and to keep the plant healthy.

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